Rasputin – Boney M, 1978

There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
He was big and strong in his eyes a flaming glow
Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear
He could preach the bible like a preacher, full of ecstasy and fire
But he also was the kind of teacher women would desire

Ra-Ra-Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
There was a cat that really was gone
Ra-Ra-Rasputin
Russia's greatest love machine
It was a shame how he carried on

(But when his drinking and lusting,
and his hunger for power became known to more and more people,
the demands to do something about this outrageous man became louder and louder...)

"This man's just gotta go," declared his enemies,
But the ladies begged,
"Don't you try to do it, please!"
No doubt this Rasputin had lots of hidden charms
Though he was a brute they just fell into his arms
Then one night some men of higher standing
Set a trap, they're not to blame
"Come to visit us," they kept demanding, and he really came

Ra-Ra-Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
They put some poison into his wine

Ra-Ra-Rasputin
Russia's greatest love-machine
He drank it all and said: "I feel fine"

Ra-Ra-Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
They didn't quit, they wanted his head

Ra-Ra-Rasputin Russia's greatest love machine
And so they shot him till he was dead

Oh, those Russians!

---

Boney M is the brain-child of West German producer Frank Farian. Tired of the direction his own record company was heading, he decided to come up with his own sound. The first song, Baby Do You Wanna Bump?, was actually Farian's own voice. The name Boney was taken from a character in an Australian TV detective show. He needed a real band to perform live, however, so he set about filling in the blanks with musicians mostly from the Caribbean: Maizie Williams (Montserrat), Sheyla Bonnick and Marcia Barrett (Jamaica) and Bobby Farrell from Aruba.

The group's debut album, Take The Heat Off Me, did not fare well at first, but an invitation to appear on a live music show, Musikladen, was all the group needed to send their first single, Daddy Cool, to the number one spot on German charts in 1976. By the time they released Rasputin in 1978, the Disco craze was in full swing, and Boney M was enjoying international success. Later that year, they released a Christmas single consisting of Mary's Boy Child and Oh, My Lord. (I think the band's Christmas songs are a must for any collection of seasonal tunes.)

Of Boney M's music that wasn't a cover from another band, there was a liberal sprinkling of lyrics and tunes borrowed from disparate sources. Rasputin, for example, features elements from traditional Serbian and Turkish songs; while other songs use bits and pieces of Pink Floyd, the Beatles and The Temptations.

Oh - as for this Rasputin fellow, the lyrics aren't far off. He was a legendary personality, and historians are still studying his life.