SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 3:47 Min.
Recorded and co-written by Rick Derringer, this anthem is the third tune on 1985’s The Wrestling Album by the WWE (at the time, it was the World Wrestling Federation). Include in the track is a transitional voice clip of Vince McMahon, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, and Jesse “The Body” Ventura briefly trading scripted dialogue to set up the album’s next track: Jimmy Hart’s “Eat Your Heart Out, Rick Springfield.”
At the time of the album’s release, Derringer’s theme served as entrance music for Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo’s U.S. Express tag team. WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan subsequently appropriated “Real American” as his own signature tune, for which it is best known. This song appears on The Wrestling Album’s 1999 CD release.
REVIEW:
The corny dialogue clip notwithstanding, this patriotic slice of WWE nostalgia remains a welcome treat. Rick Derringer’s vocals are terrific; the same applies to his pop rock melody. The clichéd lyrics are both ideal and simplistic, in terms of how they marketed Hulk Hogan as the WWE’s ‘real-life’ super-hero.
In essence, this song defined the kid-friendly Hulk-a-Mania era of 80’s pro wrestling – far more so than his two prior entrance themes: Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and the dreadfully cartoony “Hulk Hogan’s Theme (aka Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling).”
Frankly, just hearing the opening moments of Derringer’s anthem is a time machine for anyone who remembers Hogan’s unbeatable act in his prime during the mid-to-late ‘80s. “Real American” is worth adding to any ‘80s playlists, even for just a Hulk-a-Mania-friendly chuckle.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7½ Stars
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