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Satch Boogie

1987 song by Joe Satriani

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ3249031
Source-derived summary

"Satch Boogie" is the fifth track from the album Surfing with the Alien, and is along with "Surfing with the Alien" one of Satriani's most famous pieces. The composition was considered the 55th greatest guitar solo ever by Guitar World Magazine readers. The tap-on bridge played only on the fifth-string is an example of pitch axis theory. Deep Purple performed the song regularly during Satriani's tenure in the band.

Chart positions

In other media

Appeared in Problem Child 2, during the food fight scene at Pizzariffic.

It also appears in the popular video game, Guitar Hero World Tour and in the game Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades; in these games, it is considered the most difficult song for the guitar instrument, especially at the Solo F section. It was also available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series. It is also available on Rocksmith 2014 as the hardest song to learn on lead guitar.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Satch Boogie” as 1987 song by Joe Satriani. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Satch, Boogie and song.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2014—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1987. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Satch, Boogie and song providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Satch Boogie”, the useful work is to connect “1987 song by Joe Satriani” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3249031. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Satch Boogie”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Satch Boogie primary sources, Satch Boogie archive and Satch research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Satch Boogie”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Satch Boogie” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.