History
With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a No. 1 single in all mainstream US pop singles charts: the Billboard Hot 100 and Cashbox Top 100 Singles. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 29 March 1986. Falco is erroneously often considered a one-hit wonder for this song in the United States. However, Falco had already had a minor US hit in 1982 with "Der Kommissar" (a hit the following year there for After the Fire), "Sound of Musik" reached No. 13 and his follow-up single from Falco 3, "Vienna Calling," reached No. 18 on the Hot 100.
In the United Kingdom, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. In the UK, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts, Falco is also often regarded as a one-hit wonder, despite the fact that "Vienna Calling" hit number ten and three subsequent singles briefly charted.
In Canada, the song reached No. 1 on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached No. 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit No. 8 in April 1986.)
"Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked No. 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and No. 44 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.
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