Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker song)
"Boom Boom" | |
---|---|
Single by John Lee Hooker | |
from the album Burnin' | |
B-side | "Drug Store Woman" |
Released | April[1] or May 1962[2] |
Recorded | Chicago, October, 26, 1961 |
Studio | Universal |
Genre | Blues |
Length | 2:29 |
Label | Vee-Jay |
Songwriter(s) | John Lee Hooker |
Producer(s) | Calvin Carter |
"Boom Boom" is a song written by American
The song is one of Hooker's most identifiable and enduring songs[5] and "among the tunes that every band on the [early 1960s UK] R&B circuit simply had to play".[6] It has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists, including a 1965 North American hit by the Animals.
Recording and composition
Prior to recording for
The original "Boom Boom" is an uptempo (168
According to Hooker, he wrote the song during an extended engagement at the Apex Bar in Detroit.
I would never be on time [for the gig]; 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!" ... I got it together, the lyrics, rehearsed it, and I played it at the place, and the people went wild.[11]
Also included are several wordless phrases, "how-how-how-how" and "hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm". "Boom Boom" became the Hooker song that is "the most memorable, the most instantly appealing, and the one which has proved the most adaptable to the needs of other performers".[4] ZZ Top later used similar lines ("how-how-how-how") for their popular "La Grange".[10]
Releases and charts
When "Boom Boom" was released as a single in April[1] or May 1962,[2] the song became a hit. It entered the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart on June 16, 1962, where it spent eight weeks and reached number 16.[12] The song also appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 60, making it one of only two Hooker singles to enter the broader chart.[13] It was included on the 1962 Vee-Jay album Burnin' as well as many Hooker compilations, including John Lee Hooker: The Ultimate Collection.
Two years later, in 1964, the song made a brief appearance on the chart in
Hooker recorded several later versions. Following the success of the Animals' version, Hooker re-recorded the song in 1968 for
The Animals version
"Boom Boom" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by the Animals | ||||
from the album The Animals | ||||
B-side | "Blue Feeling" | |||
Released | November 1964 | |||
Recorded | January 1964 | |||
Genre | Blues rock | |||
Length | 2:57 | |||
Label | MGM | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Lee Hooker | |||
Producer(s) | Mickie Most | |||
The Animals singles chronology | ||||
|
English rock band
The Animals' version was released as a single in North America in November 1964[22] and is included on the Animals' second American album, The Animals on Tour. It reached number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100[23] and number 14 on the Canadian RPM Top 40&5 singles chart.[24] The song also appeared on the unranked chart in Wallonia.[25]
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. In 2012, the original 1964 version was used in the film Skyfall.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters version
American rock group
Recognition and legacy
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".[30] It was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009 in the "Classics of Blues Recording" category.[7] A Detroit Free Press poll in 2016 ranked the song at number 37 in "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs".[31] Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hooker's version at number 463 on its 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[32] down from number 220 on its 2004 list.[33]
References
- ^ a b
Whiskey & Wimmen: John Lee Hooker's Finest (CD compilation notes). Vee Jay Records. 2017.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ a b
The Very Best of John Lee Hooker (CD compilation notes). Rhino Records. 1995. R2 71915.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^
Edmondson, Jacqueline, ed. (2013). "Hooker, John Lee". Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories that Shaped our Culture. Santa Barbara, California: ISBN 978-0-313-39348-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g
ISBN 978-0-312-27006-3.
- ^ John Lee Hooker interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^
OCLC 781357622. R2 79825.
- ^ a b c "2009 Hall of Fame Inductees: Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker (Vee-Jay, 1961)". The Blues Foundation. November 10, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- ^
Dahl, Bill (1996). "John Lee Hooker". In ISBN 0-87930-424-3.
- ^ "Boom, Boom". Musicnotes.com. 28 May 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ^ a b Janovitz, Bill. "John Lee Hooker: Boom Boom – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ^
Obrecht, Jas (2000). Rollin' and Tumblin': The Postwar Blues Guitarists. San Francisco: ISBN 978-0-87930-613-7.
- ^
"Chart history: John Lee Hooker – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^
"Chart history: John Lee Hooker – Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "John Lee Hooker – 'Boom Boom'". Ultratop.be. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "John Lee Hooker: Singles". Official Charts. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "John Lee Hooker – 'Boom Boom'". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "John Lee Hooker – 'Boom Boom'". Lescharts.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ Later re-recordings are often in different keys; a 1992 version featuring Jimmie Vaughan is in the key of E.
- ^
Talevski, Nick (1998). The Unofficial Encyclopedia of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ISBN 978-0-313-30032-5.
- ^
"Boom Boom". The Blues. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ISBN 0-7935-5259-1.
- ^
ISBN 0-306-80415-8.
- ^ "The Story of the Animals". The Singles+ (CD liner notes). The Animals. the Netherlands: BR Music. 1999. p. 2. BS 8112-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Billboard.com. Archived from the originalon November 17, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "RPM Weekly: Top 40 & 5". RPM – via Bac-lac.gc.ca.
- ^ "The Animals – Boom Boom". Ultratop.be. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 28, 1964. p. 26. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Big Head Todd & the Monsters: Beautiful World – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Smith, Janet. "Big Head Todd and the Monsters Biography". musicianguide.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ ""Boom Boom" – Theme Song for NCIS: New Orleans". bigheadtodd.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ McCollum, Brian. "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2021)". Rollingstone.com. September 15, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. No. 963. December 9, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2022.