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Song · Beastie Boys

“You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)” by Beastie Boys

Released 1986

“You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)” by Beastie Boys appears on 86 radio countdowns from 37 stations between 1987 and 2026. It was first released in 1986. Its best result is #1 on the Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004), and it was voted number one on two countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #70 alternative song of 1987, #63 alternative song of all time and #479 of the '80s.

86countdowns
37stations
#1best position
2#1 finishes
12top 10 finishes
1987–2026years charted

Watch

Beastie Boys - (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (BeastieBoysVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

The fourth single from Licensed to Ill, the Beastie Boys' 1986 debut, went out on Def Jam and Columbia under its full title, "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)", before album pressings clipped it down to "Fight for Your Right". It's rap rock with its fists up, a party call dressed as a protest chant, and Rick Rubin carries a lyric credit.

Nothing else they released climbed as high: in March 1987 it peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, the group's lone top-10 hit. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame counts it among the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and it has been a fixture of their compilations, from The Sounds of Science to Beastie Boys Music.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1987 51 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 107
1987 18 Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1987 29

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 167 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 115 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 84 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1995 125 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 48 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 12 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1998 61 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1998 38 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 184 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 4 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 14 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 27 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 3 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 58 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 1201 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 141 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 23 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
2000 25 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 1202 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 27 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2000 8 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 26 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 1190 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 72 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 1 K-Rock K-Rock Top 92 Party Songs of All-Time (2002) 92
2002 12 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 1189 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 49 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 138 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 63 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 10 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1174 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 176 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 82 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1174 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 19 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 29 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 1175 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 6 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 46 WFPK WFPK Top 100 Party Songs 100
2006 4 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 18 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 37 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 11 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 150 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 12 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 106 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 106 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 53 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 114 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 121 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 647 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 127 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 178 KBPI KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time 200
2014 131 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 241 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 222 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 852 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 115 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 1002 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 160 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 747 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 24 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 287 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 71 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 6 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 879 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 47 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 44 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 905 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 124 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 651 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 828 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2024 9 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 485 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 912 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 6 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2025 719 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 422 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 4 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 103 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 35 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 451 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Fight for Your Right to Party; Fight For Your Right To Party; Fight For Your Right; Fight For Your Right to Party; U Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party); U Gotta Fight For Your Right (to Party).

Charting alongside it in 1987

Best songs of 1987 →
  1. 1Girlfriend in a ComaThe Smiths
  2. 2With or Without YouU2
  3. 3Dear GodXTC
  4. 4Why Can't I Be You?The Cure
  5. 5StrangeloveDepeche Mode
  6. 6Lips Like SugarEcho and the Bunnymen

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