The term Various Artists is used in the record industry when numerous singers and musicians collaborate on a song or collection of songs. Most often on Last.fm, compilation album tracks appear under the name of Various Artists erroneously because the individual artist is not listed in the album's ID3 information.
Compilation albums, for example.
Sometimes, single releases may be credited to Various Artists when their profits are going to charity and, usually in high-profile cases, are sometimes known by a group name. Examples include Band Aid with their releases of Do They Know It's Christmas? and USA for Africa with We Are The World.
Various Artists is also an actual performance name for Torsten Pröfrock, who runs the German DIN label. Torsten performs also as Dynamo, Erosion, Resilent, Traktor besides some others. He's a good friend of Robert Henke and since the Fall of 2004, he is a member of Monolake.
Various Artists was also a short-lived Bristol punk band formed by brothers Jonjo and Robin Key (originally from Birmingham). Other members were also simultaneously in Art Objects who went on to become The Blue Aeroplanes, the latter the Key brothers also co-wrote some songs and were involved in. When Various Artists imploded, the Key brothers went on to form Either / Or.
Various Artists also appear on tracks from musical theater soundtracks, due to the nature of having many cast members on one song, as well as an ensemble in some cases.
Jailhouse Rock
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The prison band was there and they began to wail
The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing
You should've heard the knocked out jailbirds sing
"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock"
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang
The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Number forty-seven said to number three
"You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me"
"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock"
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
The sad sack sittin' on a block of stone
Way over in the corner weepin' all alone
The warden said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square
If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair"
"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock"
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Shifty Henry said to Bugs, "For Heaven's sake
No one's lookin', now's our chance to make a break"
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, "Nix nix
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks"
"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock"
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
"Jailhouse Rock" tells the story of a party that took place in a county jail, with the prison band playing and the inmates dancing to a new style of music that had just emerged called rock and roll. The song starts with the warden throwing the party, and the prison band playing. The band was so good that everyone started to swing and dance to the "Jailhouse Rock." The song then moves on to introduce the members of the band, including Spider Murphy on the saxophone, Little Joe on the trombone, and the drummer boy from Illinois who goes "crash, boom, bang."
As the song progresses, it introduces the inmates dancing to the "Jailhouse Rock," with everyone in the cell block dancing to the same tune, including number 47 asking number three to dance with him. The song then moves on to talk about a sad sack sitting on a block of stone, weeping all alone, but the warden cheers him up by encouraging him to dance along, even if he doesn't have a partner. The song ends with two inmates, Shifty Henry and Bugsy, considering making a break for it, but they end up sticking around to dance to the "Jailhouse Rock" instead.
Overall, "Jailhouse Rock" is a catchy and upbeat song about rock and roll and the joy it can bring, even in the most unexpected places like a county jail. It celebrates the power of music to bring people together in all situations.
Line by Line Meaning
The warden threw a party in the county jail
The warden organized a celebration in the jail
The prison band was there and they began to wail
The band of inmates was present and started to play loud music
The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing
The music was lively and made everyone dance
You should've heard the knocked out jailbirds sing
The inmates who were so impressed with the music that they sang along
"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock"
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
The music was so good that everyone couldn't help but dance together in the cell block
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
An inmate named Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone
Inmate named Little Joe played the slide trombone
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang
An inmate from Illinois played the drums loudly and energetically
The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang
The group responsible for the rhythm section was called the Purple Gang
Number forty-seven said to number three
"You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me"
Inmate number 47 said to Inmate number 3 that they were the cutest person that they had seen in jail and asked them to dance with them
The sad sack sittin' on a block of stone
Way over in the corner weepin' all alone
The warden said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square
If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair"
The Warden noticed a disheartened person sitting alone and encouraged them to not be disappointed if they can't find someone to dance with and instead use a wooden chair as a partner
Shifty Henry said to Bugs, "For Heaven's sake
No one's lookin', now's our chance to make a break"
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, "Nix nix
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks"
Inmate Shifty Henry suggested to Bugs that they try to escape while nobody was looking, but Bugsy preferred to stay and enjoy the party
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Everyone enjoyed themselves and danced joyfully to Jailhouse Rock
Contributed by Dominic O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.