Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker song)

"Boom Boom" is a song written by American blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker and recorded in 1961. Although it became a blues standard,[1] music critic Charles Shaar Murray calls it "the greatest pop song he ever wrote".[2] "Boom Boom" was both an American R&B and pop chart success in 1962 and a UK top-twenty hit in 1992.

"Boom Boom"
Single by John Lee Hooker
from the album Burnin'
B-side"Drug Store Woman"
ReleasedMay 1962 (1962-05)
RecordedChicago, late 1961
GenreBlues
Length2:29
LabelVee-Jay
Songwriter(s)John Lee Hooker

The song is one of Hooker's most identifiable and enduring songs[3] and "among the tunes that every band on the [early 1960s UK] R&B circuit simply had to play".[4] 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 Vee-Jay Records, John Lee Hooker was primarily a solo performer or accompanied by a second guitarist, such as early collaborators Eddie Burns or Eddie Kirkland.[5] However, with Vee-Jay, he usually recorded with a small backing band, as heard on the singles "Dimples", "I Love You Honey", and "No Shoes". Detroit pianist Joe Hunter, who had previously worked with Hooker, was again enlisted for the recording session.[2] Hunter brought with him "the cream of the Motown label's session men, later known as the Funk Brothers":[5] bassist James Jamerson, drummer Benny Benjamin, plus guitarist Larry Veeder, tenor saxophonist Hank Cosby, and baritone saxophonist Andrew "Mike" Terry.[2] They have been described as "just the right band" for "Boom Boom".[2] Hooker had a unique sense of timing, which demanded "big-eared sidemen".[6]

The original "Boom Boom" is an uptempo (168 beats per minute) blues song, which has been notated in 2/2 time in the key of F.[7] It has been described as "about the tightest musical structure of any Hooker composition: its verses sedulously adhere to the twelve-bar format over which Hooker generally rides so roughshod".[2] The song uses "a stop-time hook that opens up for one of the genre's most memorable guitar riffs"[8] and incorporates a middle instrumental section Hooker-style boogie.[2]

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.[9]

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".[2] ZZ Top later used similar lines ("how-how-how-how") for their popular "La Grange".[8]

Releases and charts

When "Boom Boom" was released as a single in May 1962,[10] 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.[11] The song also entered the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 60, making it one of only two Hooker singles to enter the pop chart.[12] 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 Ultratip chart of Walloon Belgium, which at the time did not rank positions.[13]

Thirty years after release in the United Kingdom, after being featured in a Lee Jeans commercial in 1992, the song reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.[14] This release also charted in France and New Zealand. It debuted and peaked at number 24 on the New Zealand Singles Chart in November 1992, then left the top 50 two weeks later.[15] In France it debuted and peaked at number 45 in February 1993, then fell off the chart the next week. Twenty years later, in 2013, it reappeared at number 87 but again left the chart the following week.[16]

Hooker recorded several later versions. Following the success of the Animals' version, Hooker re-recorded the song in 1968 for Stateside Records as the B-side of "Cry Before I Go" under the longer title "Boom Boom Boom". He reworked the song as "Bang Bang Bang Bang" for his Live at Soledad Prison album, as a South Side Chicago street musician in the film The Blues Brothers (but the song itself is not included in the film soundtrack), and as the title track for his 1992 album Boom Boom with Jimmie Vaughan.[17]

Charts
Chart (1962–1964) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[13] N/A
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 60
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[11] 16
Chart (1992–1993) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[16] 45
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 24
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 16

The Animals version
"Boom Boom"
Single by The Animals
from the album The Animals
B-side"Blue Feeling"
ReleasedNovember 1964 (1964-11)
RecordedJanuary 1964
GenreBlues rock
Length2:57
LabelMGM
Songwriter(s)John Lee Hooker
Producer(s)Mickie Most
The Animals singles chronology
"I'm Crying"
(1964)		 "Boom Boom"
(1964)		 "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
(1965)

English rock band the Animals recorded "Boom Boom" for their 1964 UK debut album The Animals. Their blues-rock[18] rendition generally follows John Lee Hooker's original, although they add "shake it baby" as a response to the "come on and shake" refrain in the middle section,[19] taken from Hooker's "Shake It Baby" (recorded during the 1962 American Folk Blues Festival tour in Europe, where it became a hit in 1963).[20]

The Animals' version was released as a single in North America in November 1964[21] and is included on the Animals' second American album, The Animals on Tour. It reached number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100[22] and number 14 on the Canadian RPM Top 40&5 singles chart.[23] The song also charted in Walloon Beligum but, like Hooker's original, did not obtain a peak position.[24]

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.

Charts
Chart (1964) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[24] N/A
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 43

Big Head Todd and the Monsters version

American rock group Big Head Todd and the Monsters recorded "Boom Boom" for their album Beautiful World (1997). Group bassist Rob Squires described the recording session: "Hooker has just this incredible presence. He walked into the room and literally everyone was intimidated including our producer and the people who work in the studio." Their version was released as a single, which appeared in a record chart.[25][26] Beginning with the television series debut of NCIS: New Orleans in 2014, a portion of Big Head Todd's version has been used as the opening theme.[27]

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".[28] It was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009 in the "Classics of Blues Recording" category.[5] A Detroit Free Press poll in 2016 ranked the song at number 37 in "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs".[29]

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References
  1. 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: ABC-CLIO. p. 564. ISBN 978-0-313-39348-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Murray, Charles Shaar (2002). Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century. New York City: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 237–240. ISBN 978-0-312-27006-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. John Lee Hooker interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  4. Koda, Cub; Russo, Gregg (2001). Ultimate! (Boxed set booklet). The Yardbirds. Los Angeles: Rhino Records. OCLC 781357622. R2 79825.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Blues Foundation (November 10, 2016). "2009 Hall of Fame Inductees: Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker (Vee-Jay, 1961)". The Blues Foundation. Retrieved February 7, 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  6. Dahl, Bill (1996). "John Lee Hooker". In Erlewine, Michael (ed.). All Music Guide to the Blues. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 116. ISBN 0-87930-424-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. "Boom, Boom". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  8. Janovitz, Bill. "John Lee Hooker: Boom Boom – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 8, 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. Obrecht, Jas (2000). Rollin' and Tumblin': The Postwar Blues Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-87930-613-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  10. The Very Best of John Lee Hooker (CD compilation notes). John Lee Hooker. Los Angeles: Rhino Records. 1995. R2 71915.CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  11. "John Lee Hooker Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  12. "John Lee Hooker Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  13. "Ultratop.be – John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  15. "Charts.nz – John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  16. "Lescharts.com – John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  17. Later re-recordings are often in different keys; a 1992 version featuring Jimmie Vaughan is in the key of E.
  18. Nick Talevski (1998). The Unofficial Encyclopedia of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Greenwood Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-313-30032-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  19. Hal Leonard (1995). "Boom Boom". The Blues. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-7935-5259-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  20. Dixon, Willie; Snowden, Don (1989). I Am the Blues. Da Capo Press. p. 122. ISBN 0-306-80415-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  21. "The Story of the Animals". The Singles+ (CD liner notes). The Animals. the Netherlands: BR Music. 1999. p. 2. BS 8112-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  22. "The Animals Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  23. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5573." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  24. "Ultratop.be – The Animals – Boom Boom" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  25. Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 130–131. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  26. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 82–83. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  27. ""Boom Boom" – Theme Song for NCIS: New Orleans". bigheadtodd.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  28. "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.
  29. McCollum, Brian. "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 21, 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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