Jack Sparrow (song)
"Jack Sparrow" is a song by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island featuring singer-songwriter Michael Bolton. The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 7, 2011. The plot follows the troupe inviting Bolton to work on a new hip hop track, in which the members rap about meeting at a club and taking women home. Bolton ruins the group's song by instead singing choruses about the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and its primary protagonist Captain Jack Sparrow, but also with references to Forrest Gump, Erin Brockovich, Scarface and Jerry Maguire.
"Jack Sparrow"
The track was written by The Lonely Island during the production process of their second album, Turtleneck & Chain, in the summer of 2010. With an initial premise concluded, the members settled on contacting Bolton to make an appearance for the track. The trio relentlessly begged Bolton, who was initially uneasy to commit due to the track's coarse language. After recording the track, the troupe recorded a music video with Bolton as Jack Sparrow, protagonist of the aforementioned film series. The clip, on which Bolton noted the trio intended to go "above and beyond", was recorded over two days. After its initial debut as an SNL Digital Short, the video was uploaded to YouTube and subsequently attained much online popularity, amassing more than 235 million views as of October 2023.[1] In addition to its status as a viral hit, the song has received positive reviews from many media commentators and independent reviewers.[2][3][4][5][6]
Release[edit]
The song and music video debuted on Saturday Night Live as an SNL Digital Short on May 7, 2011.[7] Bolton's appearance in the song counts as his first Saturday Night Live appearance since 1991.[15] The song was released as a digital single through the iTunes Store shortly afterwards, and the music video uploaded to both The Lonely Island's official website and YouTube.[16][17][18] On May 9, less than two full days after the video premiered, the video had attracted nearly 1 million views and was the "number one most discussed" comedy video worldwide according to YouTube statistics.[19]
The song received favorable critical reception from most media commentators. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times called "Jack Sparrow" the sharpest comedy from Turtleneck & Chain, writing that Bolton's "patented power-soul singing blurs the distinction between the silly and the sublime."[20] Jillian Mapes of Billboard called Bolton's guest appearance in "Jack Sparrow" the best moment of that night's Saturday Night Live.[10]
Music video[edit]
The song's music video was shot over two days, with what Bolton called a "tremendous amount of energy and focus".[21] The video's filming took place for 16 to 18 hours each day, and crane shots of Bolton on the beach were filmed at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. On his website, Bolton commented that working on the song "was one of the highlights of my career and most memorable experiences of my life".[8] He added that he felt uncomfortable about dressing up in drag as Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich, and that he was "terrified to look in the mirror".
Bolton appears in costume as Jack Sparrow for a great deal of the video, complete with Sparrow's signature red bandanna, heavy eyeliner and goatee.[22] The music video featured models Jenny Albright in the club scene, as well as Kate Bock as Elvira Hancock, Tony Montana's wife,[23] and Danish singer Amalie Bruun as Jenny Curran, Forrest Gump's wife. The opening lyrics from The Lonely Island's song "Trouble on Dookie Island" can be heard at the start of the video.
Songs of Cinema Version[edit]
Another version of the song can be found on Bolton's album Songs of Cinema, based on his take on the lyrics. The song includes new lyrics towards the end to replace the attempts to move on to other movies. During Bolton's 2018 Netflix special Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special, he performed an unplugged version of the song.