Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1) & R&B (#6); 1990
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In the years since Vanilla Ice’s #1 triumph, he’s been likened to the boy pop stars of early rock ‘n’ roll: a good looker who had an inconsequential hit. His lack of street cred notwithstanding, Ice was still the first rap artist to top Billboard’s Hot 100.
His charisma and confidence – the very traits that would draw fire later – gained him the chance to open for headline acts at Dallas’ City Lights club. Earthquake, the club’s resident DJ, produced and recorded Ice Ice Baby, built on a chant taken from the black college fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha.
The bass line was cribbed from Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. Radio spins and a popular homemade video helped Vanilla Ice score a record deal.
The resulting album, To The Extreme, stayed on top for 16 weeks, and knocked M.C. Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em from #1 while Vanilla Ice was opening for him on tour.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Vanilla Ice
Lyrics Written by:
- Robert Van Winkle
- Mario Johnson
- Brian May
- David Bowie
- Freddie Mercury
- John Deacon
- Roger Taylor
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).