Smokin' in the Boys Room

"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!. It reached number 3 in Canada[1] and on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified by the RIAA.

"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
Single by Brownsville Station
from the album Yeah!
B-side"Barefootin'"
ReleasedOctober 1973
Recorded1973
Genre
Length2:58
LabelBig Tree
Songwriter(s)Cub Koda, Michael Lutz
Producer(s)Doug Morris, Brilliant Sun
Brownsville Station singles chronology
"Let Your Yeah Be Yeah"
(1973)		 "Smokin' in the Boys Room"
(1973)		 "Kings of the Party"
(1974)

The song is about students hoping to avoid being caught violating their school's smoking ban by smoking cigarettes in the boys' restroom. The song begins with a spoken recitation, and the verses and a part of the chorus, are mostly spoken, rather than sung.

Chart performance

Cover versions
"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
Single by Mötley Crüe
from the album Theatre of Pain
B-side"Use it or Lose it"
Released24 June 1985
Recorded1985
GenreGlam metal
Length3:22
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Cub Koda, Michael Lutz
Producer(s)Tom Werman
Mötley Crüe singles chronology
"Too Young to Fall in Love"
(1984)		 "Smokin' in the Boys Room"
(1985)		 "Home Sweet Home"
(1985)

Mötley Crüe version

The song was covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe. Released as a single, "Smokin' in the Boys Room" reached #16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and became Mötley Crüe's first Top 40 hit.[9] Their version of the song appears in the 1986 film The Wraith directed by Chieffallo. A LeAnn Rimes version of the song appeared on the album Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe.

Music video

Crüe's version was accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school principal. The video focuses on a high school student named Jimmy who is mistreated and misunderstood in school. After he is paddled by the principal for (truthfully) claiming that a dog ran off with his homework, a frustrated Jimmy goes to the boys' bathroom where he sees Motley Crüe in the mirrors. The band pulls him through the mirror to join them, and Jimmy and Motley Crüe watch a dystopian vision of the school through a barred window. At the end of the music video, the principal apologizes to Jimmy and offers an A for his missing homework; instead, Jimmy doesn't accept and rips up the homework. After Jimmy walks away, Nikki Sixx reaches out of the mirror and snatches the dumbfounded principal's toupée.

Weekly charts (1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 61
Canadian RPM[11] 19
US Billboard Hot 100 16

Personnel

Other versions

In 1981, the song was translated to Hebrew and covered by T-Slam under the name "Me'ashnim Beyahad" (Smoking Together) on their debut album. The English version of the album, "Loud Radio" featured the original version of the song.

References
  1. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  2. "Songs from the Year 1974". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  3. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  4. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 26, 1974". Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  5. Australian-charts.com
  6. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  7. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  8. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1974". Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  9. Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 69th ed, Billboard Publications, Inc. 1996. ISBN 0-8230-7632-6
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 209. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2016-07-27.


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