"Elected" is a song by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1972 as the first single off their sixth studio album, Billion Dollar Babies (1973). It reached number 26 during election week on charts in the United States, number 4 in the United Kingdom and number 3 in Austria. The promotional music video was directed by Hart Perry.
Composition "Elected" is a hard rock song with glam rock influences. Its political theme was inspired by the 1972 United States presidential election. Cooper called the song "total political satire", and added "we hated politics, but the idea of Alice, the scourge of the entire world, being president was just too good."
Both the riff and part of the melody were recycled from "Reflected" which appeared on their 1969 album Pretties for You.
Legacy Joey Ramone acknowledged the similarity between "Elected" and his band's song "I Wanna Be Sedated" according to Alice Cooper.Marc Maron (August 24, 2017). "Episode 840 - Alice Cooper". WTF with Marc Maron (Podcast). Event occurs at 52:15. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
The song was a favorite of John Lennon, who called it "a great record" but added Paul McCartney would've done it better, which Cooper agreed with. Charts Chart (1972)PeakpositionUnited States26[ "Alice Cooper - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles"] Allmusic. Retrieved on August 10, 2009."United Kingdom4Austria3""Austrian Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" Austriancharts.at. Retrieved on August 10, 2009."Netherlands5""Dutch Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."Ireland8""Irish Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" irishcharts.com. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."West Germany3""German Singles Charts Search for Alice Cooper"" musicline.de. Retrieved on August 11, 2009."
Track listing
Album appearances Billion Dollar Babies - 1973 Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits - 1974 The Beast of Alice Cooper - 1989 The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper - 1999 Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper - 2001 The Definitive Alice Cooper - 2001 The Essentials: Alice Cooper - 2002 School's Out and Other Hits - 2004
Personnel Alice Cooper – vocals Glen Buxton – lead guitar Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar Dennis Dunaway – bass Neal Smith – drums
Covers
In 1992, a cover version titled "(I Want To Be) Elected" by Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean) and Smear Campaign was released in support of the British charity Comic Relief and featured a performance by Bruce Dickinson and members of the hard rock band Taste (later known as Skin). The record was released in the run up to the United Kingdom General Election of 1992 and reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 27 on the UK Airplay Chart. The music video, in which Mr. Bean's doorstep canvassing and electoral stunts are intercut with the live video of Dickinson and the band, was directed by Paul Weiland. British hard rock band Def Leppard recorded a live version in 1987, which was used as a B-side for their songs "Heaven Is" and "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" from their 1992 album Adrenalize. Following the death of Paddy Ashdown on December 22, 2018, the music video was broadcast by ITV on December 24, 2018, and featured a title card paying tribute to Ashdown.
References