And we come to Falco.
This is an earworm centered around the repeated incantation of the middle name of (possibly) (apologies to Ludwig von Beethoven) the greatest classical composer of all time: Wolfgang. Amadeus. Mozart. Let's all sing along: "Amadeus Amadeus Ammmm-adeus / Amadeus Amadeus Ammmm-adeus / Amadeus Amadeus o o Ammmmm-adeus" The hook most definitely is not found in the Austrian-accented, German-language rapped verse.
The genesis of this song was from the opinion of Falco that, if his fellow Viennese musical superstar Mozart, were alive today, he would not be composing classical music for small audiences in concert halls, but that he would be an international pop music sensation. The video captures this perfectly. THe song rocketed up the pop charts in the U.S. (and most of the western world), hitting #1 for three weeks in March 1986. It then plummeted down the charts as rapidly as it climbed up, as if the music-listening public collectively concluded: "what were we thinking?"
But there is no denying it's a fun song. Do you prefer your Amadeus in an orchestral setting? Here's the symphonic version of this song:
As catchy as this song, it is completely un-cover-able. There seem to be no versions of this song by any other pop artists. Just Falco and some versions from various symphonies, particularly the one in Vienna. But no artsy-quirky pop band from Stockholm or Brooklyn or Austin has ever attempted even a tongue-in-cheek cover.
My favorite Falco song? It's also un-cover-able. It's the song that kept playing on a loop in my brain -- a personal earworm -- during the time I visited Vienna:
Hello. Hello. "Vienna Calling."
Sadly, Johann "Hans" Hölzel, who the world knew as "Falco," passed away in 1998, killed in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic. He is buried in Vienna's Central Cemetery in a lavishly-decorated plot:
Vienna calling indeed.
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