Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (Good Charlotte song)


"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" is a song written by Benji Madden, Joel Madden and Tim Armstrong for Good Charlotte's second studio album The Young and the Hopeless. It was released as the first single from the album in late 2002 in the United States and in early 2003 for the worldwide market. Upon its release the single reached a peak position of number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the top 40 in a number of European countries.

Background and writing

The basic concept of the song is the global obsession with fame and the way that celebrities are not appreciative of how fortunate they are.
The song has references to a number of celebrities within the lyrics. Johnnie Cochran, a famous attorney who represented stars such as O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown. He is mentioned in the lines "Well did you know when you're famous you could kill your wife / and there's no such thing as 25 to life / as long as you got the cash to pay for Cochran." A former mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry - who was convicted on drug charges - is also mentioned in the lyrics: "and did you know if you were caught and you were smokin' crack / McDonald's wouldn't even wanna take you back / you could always just run for mayor of D.C."

Music video

The music video features cameo appearances from Tenacious D's Kyle Gass, former 'N Sync singer Chris Kirkpatrick, and Minutemen bassist Mike Watt. All three musicians appear in the courtroom scene - Gass plays the prosecutor while Kirkpatrick plays the witness "Chadwick Merryweather Hardy III". Watt plays the Jury foreman. The dog questioned in the video is Benji & Joel's dog, Ca$hdogg. The Southern California rock band Lefty, who had been touring with Good Charlotte also make a cameo appearance. This video premiered in September 2002 on MTV.

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

The song has appeared in various aspects of popular culture since its initial release:
"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" won the "Viewer's Choice Award" at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. It also won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.