Bad Boys (Inner Circle song)
"Bad Boys" is a 1987 song by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, which gained high popularity in the United States after its re-release in 1993, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the Top 40 Mainstream.[1] It is well known as the opening theme to the American TV show Cops and serving as the theme song of the Bad Boys film franchise.
"Bad Boys" | |
---|---|
Swedish single picture sleeve, 1990 | |
Single by Inner Circle | |
from the album One Way and Bad Boys/Bad to the Bone | |
B-side | "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" |
Released | 1987, 1993 (re-issue) |
Genre | Reggae |
Length | 3:52 |
Label | Island |
Songwriter(s) | Ian Lewis |
Producer(s) | Ian Lewis, Touter Harvey, Roger Lewis |
Audio sample | |
|
History
The song was originally released in 1987 on the album One Way and gained low airplay and poor sales. However, in 1992, it was also included on the Bad to the Bone album, and the song was released as a single in 1993, after the unexpected success of their previous international hit single "Sweat (A La La La La Long)". "Bad Boys" reached number 52 in the United Kingdom[2] and number 8 in the United States.[1] In the latter territory, it was certified Gold and sold 600,000 copies.[3][4] The song was also released as B-side on Inner Circle's 1992 single "Sweat (A La La La La Long)".[5] The song was also released as a single in mid-1991 in Norway; it peaked at number 1 for three weeks.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
In popular culture
"Bad Boys" was selected as the theme song to Cops because a field producer for the show happened to be a fan of Inner Circle.[18] The song, which was very popular during the 1990s, is also used in the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action/comedy film series Bad Boys, which was named after the song.[19][20]
A parody of the song was used in fourth season episode of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat where the chorus goes "Good boys, good boys; whatcha gonna do?".[21]
References
- "Inner Circle – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Gold & Platinum – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". RIAA. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 3. 15 January 1994. p. 73. ISSN 0006-2510.
- "cdBBQ: Inner Circle". Cdbbq.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". VG-lista. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Australian-charts.com – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Austriancharts.at – Inner Circle – Bad Boys" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0993." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Inner Circle". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "Charts.nz – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- "End of Year Charts 1993". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Top 100 Hits for 1993". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- Griffin, Gil (2 July 1994). "Inner Circle's Sphere of Influence - Big Beat/Atlantic Set Follows 'Bad' Breakthrough". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
- "Inner Circle Biography". Bad Boys of Reggae. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- Walker, Klive (2005). Dubwise: reasoning from the reggae underground. Insomniac Press. p. 203. ISBN 1-894663-96-9.
- Mitchell (6 December 2017). "'Fresh off the Boat' Episode Review: "Slide Effect"". 8asians. Retrieved 20 October 2018.