Turtle Power!

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"Turtle Power!"
Turtle Power Partners in Kryme.jpg
Single by Partners in Kryme
from the album Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
ReleasedApril 13, 1990 (1990-04-13)
GenreHip hop
Length3:54
LabelSBK
Songwriter(s)
  • James Alpern
  • Richard Usher
Producer(s)
  • Partners in Kryme, Shane Faber (single edit/album version)
  • Partners in Kryme (film mix)
Partners in Kryme singles chronology
"Turtle Power!"
(1990) 		"Undercover"
(1990)

"Turtle Power!" (or simply "Turtle Power") is a 1990 single performed by rap duo Partners in Kryme.[1] The song was released by SBK Records and was from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack. An early unfinished version without Shane Faber's production was featured in the film's closing credits, and it is this version which is now commonly found on retro 90s compilations and on streaming sites, despite the fact the film mix was not officially released in the 1990s. In the UK, the film mix heard in the end credits featured the words "ninja" replaced with "hero", even though the film was not retitled the UK, unlike the 1987 cartoon series. The track was also used in the 2013 Activision's video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

"Turtle Power" was released in April 1990 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks, making it the first hip hop single to reach number one in the United Kingdom and becoming the thirteenth highest-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the song peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number four in Ireland, number seven in New Zealand and the top twenty in Australia, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

Song information[]

Written by James P Alpern and Richard A Usher Jr and produced by Partners in Kryme, "Turtle Power!" rode the wave of popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. A rap record featuring the use of vocoder vocals for the chorus, it became a worldwide hit, reaching number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[2] number seven in New Zealand[3] and number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in July and August 1990.[4] The song was also coupled with the single "Turtle Rhapsody" and included in the third Ninja Turtles film soundtrack. The song's lyrics erroneously claim that Raphael is leader of the team, a role actually held by Leonardo, although it can be argued that Raphael was the leader in earlier works. In more recent live performances of the song, Richard Usher (of Partners in Kryme) has replaced the lyrics with 'Raphael, he's the bad boy of the group'.

Track listing[]

  1. "Turtle Power!" (single edit)
  2. "Turtle Power!" (album version)

UK 7-inch

  1. "Turtle Power" (single edit)
  2. "Splinter's Tale 1 & Splinter's Tale 2" (performed by John Du Prez)

UK 12-inch and CD single

  1. "Turtle Power" (single edit)
  2. "Turtle Power!" (album version)
  3. "Splinter's Tale 1 & Splinter's Tale 2" (performed by John Du Prez)

Charts and certifications[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Pop Life – Page 2 – New York Times". Nytimes.com. April 11, 1990. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Partners in Kryme Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Charts.nz – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1256." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7 no. 33. August 18, 1990. p. IV. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Turtle Power". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  14. ^ "Partners in Kryme Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart 1990 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report No. 50)". ARIA. Retrieved October 10, 2016 – via Imgur.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7 no. 51. December 22, 1990. p. 36. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  18. ^ "1990 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. March 2, 1991. p. 41.
  19. ^ "British single certifications – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  20. ^ "American single certifications – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
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