"
Panama" is a song from
Van HalenVan Halen is a hard rock band formed in , USA in 1974. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007, Van Halen has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's album
19841984 is the sixth album by American hard rock band Van Halen. One of the band's more popular albums , 1984 is the final album featuring singer David Lee Roth, who later left the band in the spring of the following year because of escalating tensions between him and...
. It was the third
singleIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
released from that record and is one of their most recognized songs.
The song was written about a car. According to
David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality, best known as the original and current lead singer of Van Halen. In addition to his work with Van Halen, Roth is a successful solo artist, having released several platinum and gold solo albums...
this was because critics accused him of writing about nothing more than
partyA party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, and recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
ing,
sexIn biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, and
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s but Roth realized that he had yet to write a song about cars. In an interview with
Howard SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio and media personality most notable for his radio show which since January 9, 2006, has been broadcasting on Sirius XM, an uncensored satellite radio service...
, Roth explained the meaning behind the trademark song.
"
Panama" is a song from
Van HalenVan Halen is a hard rock band formed in , USA in 1974. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007, Van Halen has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's album
19841984 is the sixth album by American hard rock band Van Halen. One of the band's more popular albums , 1984 is the final album featuring singer David Lee Roth, who later left the band in the spring of the following year because of escalating tensions between him and...
. It was the third
singleIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
released from that record and is one of their most recognized songs.
Background
The song was written about a car. According to
David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality, best known as the original and current lead singer of Van Halen. In addition to his work with Van Halen, Roth is a successful solo artist, having released several platinum and gold solo albums...
this was because critics accused him of writing about nothing more than
partyA party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, and recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
ing,
sexIn biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, and
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s but Roth realized that he had yet to write a song about cars. In an interview with
Howard SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio and media personality most notable for his radio show which since January 9, 2006, has been broadcasting on Sirius XM, an uncensored satellite radio service...
, Roth explained the meaning behind the trademark song. Although the song features some suggestive lyrics, it is about a car that Roth saw race in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of...
; its name was "Panama", hence the title of the song.
Panama was the name of Dave's Car. Dave had the hood and bumper mounted in his hallway, which the bumper/hood is visible in Dave's video for SHOOBop. Dave has a stuffed deer's behind crashing through the front windshield. A plaque underneath reads, "Your First deer, courtesy of PANAMA."
David Lee Roth was quoted during a VH1/CMT television show showcasing his, "Strummin' With the Devil" album.
DLR : "You heard me talking about my Opel Cadet 1969 station wagon in Dance the Night Away. The nickname for that blue 1969 Opel Cadet station wagon was, "Panama" cuz that was the farthest south that you could possibly go and still have a really corrupt good time. That car now, what I did is I had a friend of mine torch off the front engine lid, and at my house in Pasadena, California we have it bolted to the wall in the front hallway. You have the front engine compartment in the grill and the two front halves of wheels like that, and we mounted the windshield right up on the top of it okay? Like it came crashing through the wall of the hallway. And then what we did, is we went to a place called Ellis Mercantile which is where you rent all of the movie props that they make in Hollywood and all of these environments. There's a section that's very famous at Ellis Mercantile where all of the cowboys and Indians stuff is. So there's a whole stack of stuffed deer at Ellis Mercantile. And I bought one, and we sawed it neatly in half and took just the butt, the tail and the back legs and positioned it like it was coming through the windshield of my Opel Cadet station wagon, and hit it and ran through the wall of my house like that. And we painted the hooves blue, "Blue Suede Hooves." And underneath we have a little plaque that says, "My first deer, courtesy of Panama."
During the
bridgeIn music, especially occidental popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section. The bridge may be the third eight-bar phrase in a thirty-two-bar form , or it may be used more loosely in verse-chorus form, or, in a compound AABA...
of the song where Roth says "I can barely see the road from the heat comin' off of it," guitarist
Eddie Van HalenEdward Lodewijkz "Eddie" Van Halen , is a Dutch-born American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Van Halen is widely known for his rapid guitar playing, tapping, and high frequency feedback...
can be heard revving his
LamborghiniAutomobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian automaker based in the small township of Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company was founded in 1963 by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini...
in the background. The car was backed up to the studio and microphones were attached to the exhaust pipe to record the sound for the song.
Music video
The
music videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
for the song, directed by Pete Angelus, features mostly on-stage antics by the band. It heavily uses shots of band members flying through the air attached to a cable. During the breakdown, David Lee Roth is seen sword dancing and
ribbon dancingRibbon is a component of rhythmic gymnastics.-The stick:This can be of any colour and made of wood, bamboo, plastic or fibreglass with a maximum diameter of 1cm at its widest, a cylindrical or conical shape and should have a length of 50–60cm...
. Bassist Michael Anthony's
Jack DanielJasper Newton "Jack" Daniel was an American distiller and the founder of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery.-Biography:...
whiskey bottle guitar is also seen.
Cover versions
Pat BooneCharles Eugene Boone , known professionally as Pat Boone, is an American singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and starred in more than 12 Hollywood movies...
recorded a swing version of the song in his 1997 album
In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice GuyIn a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy is 1997 album by Pat Boone in which Boone covers hard rock and heavy metal songs in a jazz/big band style. Boone promoted the album by appearing in leather clothing...
.
Singer-SongwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
John Mayer has
coveredCovered is used in reference to a musical recording presented under the guise of a false title and artist.This activity is primarily used by a DJ especially those associated with the "rare Soul" or "Northern soul" genre of music in 45 record format....
this song live, with surprising success.
Eddie Van HalenEdward Lodewijkz "Eddie" Van Halen , is a Dutch-born American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Van Halen is widely known for his rapid guitar playing, tapping, and high frequency feedback...
played a instrumental version on the
David LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman...
show. Which can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIMMjV3ECo
The Smashing PumpkinsThe Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan and James Iha , the band has included D'arcy Wretzky , Jimmy Chamberlin , and Melissa Auf der Maur among its membership.Disavowing the punk rock roots shared by...
also released a cover of the song in their
Live Smashing PumpkinsLive Smashing Pumpkins is a joint venture between the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins and the music distributor Nugs.net Enterprises to sell audio recordings "mastered directly from the soundboard" of The Smashing Pumpkins concerts from the band's 2008 20th anniversary tour of...
album series.
Cultural references
When U.S. troops used high volume heavy metal music during Operation Just Cause to flush
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
nian dictator
Manuel NoriegaManuel Antonio Noriega is a former general and the military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.He was never, contrary to popular belief, officially the president of Panama, but held the post of "chief executive officer" for a brief period in 1989...
from the
VaticanVatican City , officially the State of the Vatican City , is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy...
embassy in
Panama CityPanama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 813,097, with a total metro population of 1,206,792, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, at...
in 1989, "Panama" was among the Van Halen tracks included in the sound barrage.
"Panama" is featured in the opening title for the American version of the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
game
Gran Turismo 4Gran Turismo 4 is a racing video game for Sony PlayStation 2 which was developed by Polyphony Digital. It was released on January 10, 2005 in Japan and Hong Kong , February 22, 2005 in North America , and March 9, 2005 in Europe , and has since been re-issued under Sony's 'Greatest Hits' line...
(along with part of "Moon Over The Castle") and in the film
Superbad, when Fogell/McLovin and Officer Slater and Michaels (played by
Christopher Mintz-PlasseChristopher Charles Mintz-Plasse is an American actor known for starring in films such as Superbad, Role Models and Year One.-Career:...
,
Bill HaderWilliam "Bill" Hader is an Emmy- and Peabody award-winning American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and repertory player on Saturday Night Live...
, and
Seth RogenSeth Rogen is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer and film producer. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy for four years during his teens, coming in second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest when he was 16. While still living in his native Canada, he landed a supporting role in...
respectively) hold a drunken three-man car show in a deserted parking lot. In
The Drew Carey ShowThe Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004 and was known for its "everyman" characters and themes...
episode "A House Reunited", Mimi tries to drive Drew out of his house by blasting "Panama" all day for 3 days straight.
Chart positions
| Chart (1984) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
13 |
External links
- Music Video on VH1 Classic
VH1 Classic is an American television network started on May 8, 2000. It is operated as part of MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom. It primarily features music videos and concert footage from the 1970s through the mid-1990s, though it formerly included a wider range of genres and time periods...
website (US only)