Lyrics
(written by Ray Parker Jr.) (official lyrics from sheet music; download below)
Ghostbusters!
If there’s something strange
In your neighborhood,
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
If there’s something weird,
And it don’t look good,
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
If you’re seeing things
Running through your head,
Who can you call?
Ghostbusters!
An invisible man
Sleeping in your bed,
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
If you’re all alone,
Pick up the phone,
And call…
Ghostbusters!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
I hear it likes the girls.
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
If you have a dose of a
Freaky ghost, baby,
You’d better call…
Ghostbusters!
Let me tell you something
Bustin’ makes me feel good!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!
Don’t get caught alone! No, no!
Ghostbusters!
When it comes through your door,
Unless you just want some more,
I think you’d better call…
Ghostbusters!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
I think you’d better call?
Ghostbusters!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
I can’t hear you!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
Louder!
Ghostbusters!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
Who can you call?
Ghostbusters!
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
[fade out]
Audio
Album Version
* MP3 (Fozzy42) – Download (source)
“Searchin’ For The Spirit” Remix
The “Searchin’ For The Spirit” & “Dub Instrumental Version” tracks are the A & B sides of a vinyl picture disc record released in 1984.
* MP3 (BunnyEars) – Download (contains lots of pics of the record)
“Dub Instrumental Version”
The “Searchin’ For The Spirit” & “Dub Instrumental Version” tracks are the A & B sides of a vinyl picture disc record released in 1984.
* [no download links available]
“2009 Re-Recording”
Back in June of 2009, a trailer was released for Ghostbusters: The Video Game for the Nintendo DS, which featured a re-recorded version of the theme song, again sung by Ray Parker Jr. It has appeared in the new Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime video game trailer, and the full version made it’s debut on the game’s official website. The original Atari MP3’s ID3 data says 2007, which either means that this new version was recorded two years before it debuted to the public, or the 2007 date could simply be a mistake.
* MP3 (GBNews) – Download
Music Video
The music video was filmed at the A&M; Recording Studios in California and Times Square in New York. The A&M; Recording Studios was located at 1416 North La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028. It was originally built in the 1910s as the Charlie Chaplin Studios, and is currently owned by the The Jim Henson Company, who operates it as a recording studio. The charity song “We Are The World” was recorded at the A&M; Recording Studios on January 28, 1985. Jane Fonda was seen outside the studio in the official videocassette, “We Are The World – The Video Event” (expanded 20 years later as the official DVD “We Are The World – The Story Behind The Song”). (Buy The VHS or Buy The DVD) Click here to read a nice little history of the Charlie Chaplin Studios from the 2005 book “Hollywood: The Movie Lover’s Guide” by Richard Alleman.
Two alternate versions of the video exist. One is the Pop-Up Video version, which features little trivia bubbles over the video. The other is a Weird Al Yankovic edit, shown during his AL-TV special on September 3, 1984 (Labor Day in the U.S.), which replaces the celebrity cameos with shots of him and his friends (see below).
The music video is seen and heard on a television at the beginning of Ray Parker, Jr.’s “Girls Are More Fun” music video (1985, from the album Sex And The Single Man). Ray tries to convince a woman, played by Irene Cara, that he’s really Ray Parker Jr. She sarcastically rebuffs him by saying, “Yeah, and I’m Irene Cara,”, and then walks away. At this point, Ray sees the “Ghostbusters” music video on a television and comments, “Hey! That’s me!”. Irene Cara, of course, also made a cameo appearance in the “Ghostbusters” music video.
Regular Music Video
Live Performances
Lawsuit
Some people say that the shared bassline between I Want A New Drug and Ghostbusters sounds very similar to Pop Musik, which came out before both of them. You can judge the songs for yourself by watching and listening to the music videos listed below.
Huey Lewis & The News – I Want A New Drug
* Flash (YouTube) – Various Copies (search results)
M (aka Robin Scott) – Pop Muzik
* Flash (YouTube) – Various Copies (search results)
Ray Parker Jr. is suing Huey Lewis over comments he made in his “Behind the Music” special, accusing the pop singer of breaking a confidentiality agreement concerning Parker’s 1984 hit “Ghostbusters.”
The suit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, states that Lewis breached the agreement by publicly discussing the lawsuit he filed against Parker 17 years ago, claiming “Ghostbusters” infringed on the copyright of Huey Lewis and the News’ hit “I Want a New Drug”.
The settlement agreement Lewis and Parker reached for that lawsuit in 1995 banned them from revealing any information that was not included in a press release they jointly issued at the time. The press release stated that the matter had been “amicably resolved.”
Parker’s lawsuit quotes Lewis (born Hugh Cregg) saying on “Behind the Music”: “The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something – they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it. … [I]t’s not for sale. … In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it.”
That money was paid to resolve the lawsuit was protected by the confidentiality agreement, Parker claims.
The lawsuit states that the confidentiality agreement was “directly related to [Parker’s] comfort, happiness and welfare,” and that Lewis’ comments were “inflammatory and disparaging” and “false” and caused Parker emotional distress.
Parker is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages as well as lawyer’s fees and “further relief as the Court deems just and proper.”
Huey Lewis’ lawyer, Gerry Margolis, said he could not offer comment when reached Friday evening (March 23). He said he had just received a copy of the suit and had not had a chance to review it fully.
(originally posted at: http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1442127/03232001/lewis_huey.jhtml)
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A legal battle over the theme to “Ghostbusters” is back to haunt musician Huey Lewis.
Singer-songwriter Ray Parker Jr. is suing Lewis for allegedly violating a confidentiality clause in a legal agreement the two had reached in a previous lawsuit over the hit song “Ghostbusters.”
In 1984, Lewis sued Parker and several other parties, claiming Parker plagiarized “I Want a New Drug” in composing “Ghostbusters.”
Lewis, whose real name is Hugh Cregg, was one of the composers of “I Want a New Drug.”
The parties reached an agreement in 1995 that included a confidentiality clause, according to Parker’s suit filed Thursday. Parker alleged that Lewis violated that agreement by discussing the suit during an interview for the VH1 series “Behind the Music.”
Lewis could not immediately be reached for comment.
Parker has asked for compensatory and punitive damages along with attorney’s fees and costs.
Copyright © 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
