Young Turks (song)
Encyclopedia
"Young Turks" is the title of a song by Rod Stewart
that first appeared on his album Tonight I'm Yours
. The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, at #11 on the UK Singles Chart
and #3 in Australia.
The music for the song was composed by Carmine Appice
and songwriter Duane Hitchings, while Stewart wrote the lyrics . The song appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
on the radio station K-DST, in the Enjoi
skate video Bag of Suck as Louie Barletta's accompanying song, and was used in one scene in the movie Winners and Sinners
.
The song was produced with synthesizers and a hi-hat played over a drum machine. Stewart's videotaped rooftop performance of the song appeared about one-third of the way through Dick Clark's three-hour "American Bandstand
" 30th Anniversary Special Episode on 30 October 1981.
) mentioned in the song is juxtaposed by a group of dancers who seemingly intermix with them throughout the video. At the start of the video, Billy emerges from one floor above Licha's Santa Fe Grill, in reality at the northwest corner of 7th and Santa Fe Streets in Los Angeles, California. A little more than one-third of the way through the song, Billy and Patti are shoved toward the entrance of the Hotel Hayward, in reality at the west corner of 6th and Spring Streets, again in Los Angeles, between a mile and a half and two miles to the northwest. The dancers eventually end up in a railway yard just to the east of the grill, to where the couple has returned and Rod Stewart is singing the last half of the song.
The video for "Young Turks" is the first MTV
music video to feature the dance Popping performed by Paul "Cool Pockets" Guzman-Sanchez from the San Fernando Valley dance group Chain Reaction. Choreographed by Kenny Ortega and directed by Russel Mulcahy, the video came out two years before break dancing was widely known.
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
that first appeared on his album Tonight I'm Yours
Tonight I'm Yours
Tonight I'm Yours is a 1981 album by Rod Stewart. It features hints of Classic Rock, Pop and New Wave. The album had two hit singles with, title track "Tonight I'm Yours " , "Young Turks" and "How Long?" .-Album information:Tonight I'm Yours saw Rod Stewart further adopting current musical...
. The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, at #11 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and #3 in Australia.
The music for the song was composed by Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice is an American rock drummer of Italian background and is the older brother of drummer Vinny Appice by 12 years. He received a classical music training and was influenced by the jazz drumming of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa early on...
and songwriter Duane Hitchings, while Stewart wrote the lyrics . The song appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
on the radio station K-DST, in the Enjoi
Enjoi
Enjoi is a skateboarding company offering skateboard decks as their primary product. They also provide skateboarding accessories and clothing. The company's logo is a stylized panda.-Formation:...
skate video Bag of Suck as Louie Barletta's accompanying song, and was used in one scene in the movie Winners and Sinners
Winners and Sinners
Winners and Sinners is a 1983 Hong Kong action comedy film directed, co-written by and starring Sammo Hung. It was the first in the Lucky Stars series of films - a highly successful series in Hong Kong....
.
The song was produced with synthesizers and a hi-hat played over a drum machine. Stewart's videotaped rooftop performance of the song appeared about one-third of the way through Dick Clark's three-hour "American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
" 30th Anniversary Special Episode on 30 October 1981.
Music video
It was filmed in the East L.A. area of Los Angeles in early 1981. The runaway couple ("Billy" and "Patti", played by Elizabeth DailyElizabeth Daily
Elizabeth Ann Guttman , better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, singer-songwriter, and musician...
) mentioned in the song is juxtaposed by a group of dancers who seemingly intermix with them throughout the video. At the start of the video, Billy emerges from one floor above Licha's Santa Fe Grill, in reality at the northwest corner of 7th and Santa Fe Streets in Los Angeles, California. A little more than one-third of the way through the song, Billy and Patti are shoved toward the entrance of the Hotel Hayward, in reality at the west corner of 6th and Spring Streets, again in Los Angeles, between a mile and a half and two miles to the northwest. The dancers eventually end up in a railway yard just to the east of the grill, to where the couple has returned and Rod Stewart is singing the last half of the song.
The video for "Young Turks" is the first MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
music video to feature the dance Popping performed by Paul "Cool Pockets" Guzman-Sanchez from the San Fernando Valley dance group Chain Reaction. Choreographed by Kenny Ortega and directed by Russel Mulcahy, the video came out two years before break dancing was widely known.
Chart performance
| Charts (1981-1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 14 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |