The Zoo (song)

"The Zoo" is a song by the German hard rock band Scorpions. It was written by group members Rudolf Schenker (guitar) and Klaus Meine (vocals). The song also features a talk box later on in the song.

This article is about the Scorpions song. For other songs, see Zoo (disambiguation) § Recordings.
"The Zoo"
Single by Scorpions
from the album Animal Magnetism
ReleasedMarch 1980
RecordedDecember 1979 – February 1980
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length5:28
LabelHarvest/EMI (Europe)
Mercury (US)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dieter Dierks
Scorpions singles chronology
"Lovedrive"
(1979)		 "The Zoo"
(1980)		 "Lady Starlight"
(1980)

Background

Schenker wrote much of the music during the band's first tour of the United States in 1979. When Meine first heard Schenker's riff, it reminded him of the band's earlier visit to a street in New York City humorously referred to as a "zoo".[1] Meine later composed the song's lyrics, which contain references to city streets, especially New York's 42nd Street.

The song has been featured on a few Scorpions "Best-Of" compilations, including Deadly Sting, Bad for Good: The Very Best of Scorpions, the box set Box of Scorpions, and a re-recorded version for the Comeblack album.

It has also been used in the soundtrack of the video game NBA 2K18.

Reception

Although the song was released as a single in 1980, it commercially underperformed with limited chart success, peaking at #75 in the UK. Even so, it is a critically acclaimed heavy metal song, one critic noting that "The Zoo" is both "ominously slow and melodically accessible" with a key element being the "Berlin burlesque vocal melody". On this note, it is used by many strippers in their stage act.[1]

References
  1. Popoff, Martin (2002), The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time, ECW Press, p. 192, ISBN 1-55022-530-8
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