Rocky Horror - Tribute to the legacy
Rocky Horror Picture Show | Tribute to a Legacy
Celebrating its 49th Anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Lets Talk About The Music joyously commemorates this remarkable milestone, reflecting on the enduring impact of this cult classic. In addition to honoring the film's legacy, the platform proudly joins in celebrating Pride, recognizing and supporting the LGBTQ+ community and its significant contributions to the world of music and beyond.
Welcome to a new feature where Let’s Talk About the Music steps away from the current independent music industry
and pays homage to the legacy of music past. The musicians of today would not be here without yesterday’s musicians leading the way.
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Let’s Talk About the Music,
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In this first blog post, we are going to look at the ever-irreverent and always timeless Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Note that the stage play title is simply The Rocky Horror Show, but most people know the story via the movie.) This classic has inspired many tributes, including a well-known one in London. Locally in Washington, there are a few theaters between Tacoma and Seattle that do their own tributes. So let's look into the past first, and then we’ll take a look at current homages to Rocky Horror.
On Emancipation Day, the anniversary of the Garfield comic strip going national, and the day Bobby Helms passed away in 1997. And on June 19, 1973, a bizarre stage play written by Richard O’Brien made its debut in London.
Rocky Horror History and Trivia
If you know about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, you’re likely more familiar with the 1975 film adaptation starring Tim Curry, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Jonathan Adams, Little Nell, Meat Loaf (all from the original stage productions), Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, and Charles Grey.
What is there to talk about Rocky Horror that hasn’t been said already? I could say how great the music is, but you may already know that. I could talk about how the film has a cult status, but you likely already know that, too. But I’m confident there’s some things about Rocky Horror you’re not aware of; and since I always like behind-the-scenes trivia, I’ve compiled a list of ten things you probably didn’t know about the stage play and the movie.
10. Patricia Quinn (Magenta), originally sang the opening song “Science Fiction Double Feature” in the stage play. There, she dressed up like an usherette. Quinn has stated that this is her favorite song from the play, and was disappointed that she didn’t get to perform the song in the film adaptation.
9. A memorable moment from the film is when Dr. Scott arrives at the castle and crashes through a wall in Frank’s laboratory. It often gets a laugh at screenings, but there’s actually a reason for this. The set designers forgot to put a regular door for when Dr. Scott (who is in a wheelchair) arrives. Someone suggested he just crash through one of the walls. It works.
8. Brad has a cut verse in “Over At The Frankenstein Place.” During the song you may notice that only Janet and Riff Raff have verses, but despite Brad being present in the scene and taking part in the chorus, he doesn’t have a solo part. As it turns out, he did in the stage play! For the film adaptation, it was apparently planned to cut his verse early on (likely for time reasons), because his verse isn’t even on the soundtrack either.
7. “Eddie’s Teddy” was not in the original stage production. It was added when the play moved to the United States because theaters complained the play was too short. Also, audiences sympathized with Eddie when Frank killed him after the “Hot Patootie” song, so Richard O’Brien wrote the song to make him less likable.
6. You know how The Wizard of Oz begins in black and white? For the original film, the creators wanted the first scenes to be in black and white but then gradually turn to color once Frank showed up.
5. Eddie and Dr. Scott are actually played by the same actor in the stage play. It’s meant to be a joke that Eddie and Dr. Scott look alike, so when it’s revealed that Scott is Eddie’s uncle, it’s meant to be a “Captain Obvious” moment. Meat Loaf was disappointed that this wasn’t kept for the film.
4. The original stage actor for Eddie and Dr. Scott, Paddy O’Hagan, had difficulty performing “Hot Patootie” due to the song being relatively fast and there being several words in each lyric line. When the play came to America, O’Brien assured Meat Loaf it was okay if he didn’t sing the song properly, only for Meat Loaf to prove him wrong. Today, many stage performers try to emulate Meat Loaf’s performance of the song, but it’s clear some performers still have difficulty with it.
3. During the car ride in the film, note that Brad is listening to Richard Nixon’s resignation speech. This was an idea by the film’s director, Jim Sharman. Creator Richard O’Brien always hated this because he wanted the film to be “timeless” and hearing Nixon’s speech now makes it too obvious that the film is in the mid-70s. However, many fans have assumed the film was made in the 80s because of the style of music.
2. Tim Curry originally wanted to play Dr. Scott in the 2016 remake. Curry suffered a stroke in 2012 and has been using a wheelchair since. As Dr. Scott uses a wheelchair, he thought it would be appropriate. Instead, the producers cast him as the Criminologist.
1. Craig Ferguson played Brad in one stage performance. If you’re a fan of The Drew Carey Show, you may remember the Season 2 finale where the characters have a dance-off to determine the better musical, The Rocky Horror Show or Pricilla, Queen of the Desert. Mr. Wick, Drew’s boss, is shown supporting Pricilla and dismissing Rocky Horror. What’s interesting about this is that Craig Ferguson was part of an American stage performance of Rocky Horror in the early 90s!
And there you have it: ten fun facts about Rocky Horror you probably didn’t know. So happy anniversary to The Rocky Horror Show! Celebrate by having a Science-Fiction Double Feature!
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I am Shels L. Pixi Honeysuckle, owner of Let's Talk About the Music
Started in 2015, rebranded in 2018. Mission is to promote music and indie artists through blog and upcoming podcast, while studying Business Management at Green River. Support appreciated to continue. Thank you, Shels L. Pixi Honeysuckle.
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