the name "Rebel Yell"

i had a revelation the other day, thought i would share this with you guys. if you look on PKD's website, under "Thrill Rides", there is a description of each coaster. for as long as i can remember, next to Rebel Yell's title, it says "With the Rebel Yell, youll cry MORE MORE MORE!!!". i have ALWAYS wondered what the heck they are talking about.

then a few weeks ago...i was at work, and we often listen to Richmond's local classic rock station. a Billy Idol song came on the radio...a song that i have heard NUMEROUS times in my life. and it occured to me as i listened to the chorus line...

"With a Rebel Yell...youll cry MORE...MORE..MORE!!"

and i had to laugh to myself. after 26 years...i think i know how PKD's longtime signature wooden coaster got its name...or at least its catch phrase.

Uh dude, just a suggestion.... Don't give up your day job.

It's name actually refers to a famous Confederate army 'battle cry' from the American Civil War. Given that the city of Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy and that many pivotal battles from the Civil War were waged in that immediate region, I'm betting THAT has more to do with why it was named "Rebel Yell" than a Billy Idol song.

:)

i at least think VACoasterfreak's observation is interesting...way to pick up on something like that :)

I am sure Tim knows what a rebel yell is he is 26 years old, born and raised in the heart of Dixie after all.

What he was saying is that the description on the webpage is straight from Billy Idol's "rebel yell" an interesting observation.

PKD might have adopted the slogan, You'll cry more, more more. But the coaster existed and was named long before the Billy Idol song.

Chuck

It's "SHE cried more, more, more"... Since the song is about a tryst that ends up on the floor. ;)
I'm sure Brother Dave is right.

Wasn't there an article in the Richmond times dispatch I believe regarding the retirement of a long time PKD staff member who was actually involved in the naming of the ride?

As I recall reading,when the ride was first built just before the park's debut in 1975 management & marketing teams were struggling with what to name the ride....for some reason they didn't want to use the name racer <PKI> for this ride & some creative brainstorming by some individuals in park management resulted in the name "rabel yell" for the coaster & the rest,as they say is history.

IIRC someone posted the article here sometime last year so perhaps a search might bring it up?

Well I am glad they didn't name it after a song, especially in 1975. "KC & The Sunshine Coaster" just doesn't seem fitting. ;)

The coaster actually reminds me of the song, and not the other way around. One of my faves!

-Tina

"Running With the Devil" would have been nice. ;)

Funny stuff, Tim. lol :)

Billy Idol released "Rebel Yell" in 1983. He wrote it, thus it is not a cover tune recorded by anyone else earlier. According to allmusic.com there are only two other songs titled "Rebel Yell" and neither were recorded prior to 1983.

PKD's Rebel Yell woodie opened in 1975 and therefore could not have been named for the song.

Sorry, VA...you should have researched a little more ;)

He was likely correct about the catch phrase though, unless they had *that* prior to 1983.

Not likely IMHO.

The similarity does raise a question in my mind. Maybe both the song's line and the reason for naming the rollercoaster both stem from the same idea, thus making them as close as they are. Just a thought.

lol..just so everyone knows...i know Rebel Yell was not named after the Billy Idol song. i have a feeling the description on the webpage IS a clever play on words regarding said song. and yes, MagnumsRevenge, you are right, i am a life long VA resident, and a very well read fan of American history, definitely including the Civil War.

actually, many scrimmages were fought on the same ground that PKD stands on today when Union troops were advancing towards the capture of Richmond in the latter third of the Civil War; which is probably the TRUE inspiration behind the coaster's name, as Confederate, or "Reb" cavalry regiments were responsible for defending the capital of the Confederacy for so many years (three i believe).

thank you Moosh...i was just making a clever observation;) so thank you everyone for the comments lol. oh, and Matt (AV), the catch phrase didnt start appearing, from what i can tell, until the park first debuted its webpage, sometime in the early 1990's...so ill safely stick to that:)

and as for you, SWS...get a life, ok? its much more enjoyed when you loosen up and not take every damn thing so seriously;) *** Edited 12/24/2006 9:01:49 PM UTC by vacoasterfreak***

Maybe...now here's a wicked and thought-provoking idea...maybe the staff/webmaster of the webpage, heard the Billy Idol song, and decided to put the "more more more" thing in there, some couple of years ago, or less! Golly, wouldn't that be a swell thing to think of!

^ Yeah, we already established that fact. Quit trying so hard to be a douchebag and give the guy a break.

^ I'm actually sticking up for him and hoping you all give him a break...

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vacoasterfreak said:
lol..just so everyone knows...i know Rebel Yell was not named after the Billy Idol song. i have a feeling the description on the webpage IS a clever play on words regarding said song. and yes, MagnumsRevenge, you are right, i am a life long VA resident, and a very well read fan of American history, definitely including the Civil War.

actually, many scrimmages were fought on the same ground that PKD stands on today when Union troops were advancing towards the capture of Richmond in the latter third of the Civil War; which is probably the TRUE inspiration behind the coaster's name, as Confederate, or "Reb" cavalry regiments were responsible for defending the capital of the Confederacy for so many years (three i believe).

thank you Moosh...i was just making a clever observation so thank you everyone for the comments lol. oh, and Matt (AV), the catch phrase didnt start appearing, from what i can tell, until the park first debuted its webpage, sometime in the early 1990's...so ill safely stick to that

and as for you, SWS...get a life, ok? its much more enjoyed when you loosen up and not take every damn thing so seriously *** Edited 12/24/2006 9:01:49 PM UTC by vacoasterfreak***

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If several battles during the civil war took place on the site that PKD now occupies I'm kinda suprised that the city & state would've ever allowed the developers of the park<Taft broadcasting> to even build the park where it presently sits....remember how much trouble disney had just 12 years ago when trying to build their disney's america park up here in the Haymarket region of PW county?

I'm suprised that they didn't just turn the land into a national park,much like they did the battlefields here in Manassas.

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BATWING FAN SFA said:

If several battles during the civil war took place on the site that PKD now occupies I'm kinda suprised that the city & state would've ever allowed the developers of the park<Taft broadcasting> to even build the park where it presently sits....remember how much trouble disney had just 12 years ago when trying to build their disney's america park up here in the Haymarket region of PW county?

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Doesn't surprise me at all.

The area around Richmond was so fought over that if every acre of land that saw a battle or small skirmish (sorry vacoasterfreak, the word is Skirmish, not scrimmage... that's in the game of football) would have been preserved, then you would see nothing much built at all in that area of Virginia.

During Grant's 1864 advance from the Wilderness (north of Richmond, near Chanchellorsville) to Cold Harbor (east of Richmond), the area around PKD saw lots of troop movement and action. Not counting the many nameless skirmishes, the battles of the North Anna and Hanover Courthouse were fought near by, with a pretty fierce fight taking place at Doswell Plantation.

Much of the land of many of the GREAT battles in that area of Virginia has been lost to development for years. Even the famed field in front of Maryes Heights at Fredricksburg is now the sight of buildings and the battlefield of Chantilly is only about an acre now, the rest being lost to town homes. Even Cold Harbor, with its MILES upon MILES of trenches where Grant launched several charges against the Confederate works, only to have his troops torn to shreds is now lost except for a few acres preserved by the National Park Service.

If I am not mistaken, some of the action around Williamsburg during McClellan's 1862 Peninsular Campaign took place on ground that is now part of Busch Garden's Europe. And I am not entirely sure, but considering how close Austell GA is to Atlanta, I would not be a bit surprised if the area that is now Six Flags over Georgia didn't see some action when Sherman moved on Atlanta.

It all depends on who owns the land. Face it, if a McDonalds and a KFC can sit on some of the land where Picket charged at Gettysburg, and a shopping center can sit on what was Camp Letterman at Gettysburg (one of the largest field hospitals of the war), then surely an amusement park can sit on some land where one of the hundreds of small, nameless skirmishes occured near Richmond. *** Edited 12/25/2006 7:40:14 AM UTC by SLFAKE***