No Sleep till Brooklyn
Rubin's riffs and Kerry King's solo behind a song about wanting to get home from a draining tour.
Beastie Boys, from Licensed to Ill (1986)
- Written by
- Rick Rubin, Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch
- Released
- 1986
- Length
- 4:06
- Album
- Licensed to Ill
Recorded in spring 1986, it was released as a single on 1 March 1987 with Posse in Effect on the B-side. Rubin played the riffs and Kerry King of Slayer the solo. The title plays on Motorhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, and the lyric is about a tiring tour and wanting to be back in Brooklyn. Cash Box called it a raucous, rambunctious blend of rap, smart-ass and heavy metal.
Menello and Dubin directed a video that parodies glam metal and features King. It reached number 14 in Britain, 17 in Ireland and 22 in the Netherlands in 1987. It was long the closer at concerts, although some lyrics were later changed. Bob Dylan played it on his radio show Theme Time Radio Hour in 2007.
More songs by Beastie Boys
Sabotage, (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!), Shake Your Rump, Sure Shot, Intergalactic
Sources
- No Sleep till Brooklyn, Wikipedia
- No Sleep Till Brooklyn, SecondHandSongs