Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker song)
| "Boom Boom" | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Single by John Lee Hooker | |
| from the album Burnin' | |
| B-side | "Drug Store Woman" |
| Released | May 1962[1] |
| Format | 7" 45 rpm record |
| Recorded | Chicago Late 1961 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 2:29 |
| Label | Vee-Jay (Cat. no. 438) |
| Writer(s) | John Lee Hooker |
"Boom Boom" is a blues song written by John Lee Hooker and recorded in 1961. The song was a hit in the US in 1962 and 1992 in the UK. It is one of Hooker's most identifiable songs and has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists, including a 1965 Pop hit by The Animals.
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[edit] Original song
"Boom Boom" is an uptempo stop-time blues song, notated in 4/4 time in the key of C. The verses of the song do not follow a typical twelve-bar blues pattern, though it reverts to a standard twelve-bar pattern for the extended instrumental break in the middle of Hooker's recording.[2] According to Hooker, he wrote the song during an extended engagement at the Apex Bar in Detroit. "I would never be on time; I always would be late comin' in. And she [the bartender Willa] kept saying, 'Boom boom—you late again'. Every night: 'Boom, boom—you late again'. I said 'Hmm, that's a song!'"[3]
Hooker had a unique sense of timing, which demanded "big-eared sidemen".[4] Backing John Lee Hooker (vocal and guitar) are members of the Funk Brothers (Joe Hunter (piano), James Jamerson (bass), and Benny Benjamin (drums)); plus Larry Veeder (guitar), Hank Cosby (tenor saxophone), and Andrew "Mike" Terry (baritone saxophone).
The song became a hit, reaching #16 in the Billboard R&B chart where it spent eight weeks in 1962.[5] "Boom Boom" also made an appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100 (1962 at #60), one of only two Hooker singles to do so.[5] Thirty years later, after being featured in a Lee Jeans commercial in 1992, the song reached #16 in the UK Singles Chart.[6] Hooker recorded several later versions, including a reworking of the song as "Bang Bang Bang Bang" from his Live at Soledad Prison album and as a South Side Chicago street musician in the film The Blues Brothers, but the song itself is not included in the film soundtrack.
[edit] The Animals version
| "Boom Boom" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Animals | ||||
| from the album The Animals | ||||
| B-side | "Blue Feeling" | |||
| Released | November 1964[7] | |||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | |||
| Recorded | January 1964 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | MGM (K 13298) | |||
| Writer(s) | John Lee Hooker | |||
| Producer | Mickie Most[7] | |||
| The Animals singles chronology | ||||
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English rock band the Animals recorded "Boom Boom" for their 1964 UK debut album The Animals. Their rendition generally follows John Lee Hooker's version, except it conforms to a twelve-bar blues structure.[8] They also added "shake it baby" as a response to the "come on and shake..." refrain in the middle section.[8] (Hooker recorded "Shake It Baby" during the 1962 American Folk Blues Festival tour in Europe and for his 1965 album It Serves You Right to Suffer.)
The Animals version was released as a single only in North America and peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and #14 on the RPM Top 40&5 singles chart.[10] The song was also included on their second American album The Animals on Tour as well as various compilation albums (sometimes with the twelve-bar guitar solo edited out).
Over the years, several versions of "Boom Boom" have been recorded by various Animals reunion lineups as well as by former members Eric Burdon and Alan Price.
[edit] Other versions
As one of Hooker's best-known songs, "Boom Boom" has been recorded by a variety of artists. In 1963, The Yardbirds recorded a demo of the song which was released in 1966 as a single in the Netherlands and Germany and later included on their compilation album Ultimate!. 1966 albums by Mae West (Way Out West) and Shadows of Knight (Gloria) both included the song. It also appears on the 1970 album C.C.S. by the CCS and on Dr. Feelgood's 1974 album Down by the Jetty. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band frequently covered the song, in a fashion similar to the Animals' version, on their 1988 Tunnel of Love Express Tour. In 1995, it was covered by AC/DC during a radio session. In 1997, Big Head Todd & the Monsters recorded it for their Beautiful World album, releasing it as a single the following year. The Oak Ridge Boys recorded it in 2009 featuring bass singer Richard Sterban on lead vocals from The Boys Are Back. Their rendition is closer to The Animals' version in that they include the "shake it baby" refrain.
[edit] Accolades
In 1995, John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".[11] It was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009 in the "Classics of Blues Recording" category.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ The Very Best of John Lee Hooker Rhino R2 71915 Liner Notes.
- ^ The Blues. Hal Leonard Corporation. 1995. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0793552591.
- ^ Obrecht, Jas (2000). Rollin' and Tumblin': The Postwar Blues Guitarists. Backbeat Books. p. 426. ISBN 978-0879306137.
- ^ Dahl, Bill (1996). All Music Guide to the Blues. Miller Freeman Books. p. 116. ISBN 0879304243.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Record Research. p. 194. ISBN 0898200687.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 258. ISBN 1904994105.
- ^ a b (1999) "The Story of the Animals", p. 2 [CD liner]. Album notes for The Singles+ by The Animals. Holland: BR Music (BS 8112-2).
- ^ a b The Blues. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corporation. 1995. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0793552591.
- ^ "The Animals: Charts & Awards – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3555/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
- ^ "RPM Magazine: Top Singles - Volume 2, No. 21, January 18 1965" (PHP). Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5573&type=2&interval=24&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3.
- ^ "The Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived from the original on April 22, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070422234247/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-by-name-ac/. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "Blues Hall of Fame – 2009 Inductees". Classics of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track. The Blues Foundation. 2009. http://www.blues.org/#ref=halloffame_inductees. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
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