Johnny Got a Boom Boom
Encyclopedia
"Johnny Got a Boom Boom" is a song by Irish rockabilly
musician Imelda May
. Written solely by May, the song was released as her debut single
, and lead single from her second studio album, Love Tattoo
, on 26 January 2009 on Ambassador Records, a sub-label of Universal Music Ireland
. The song gained significant popularity in Ireland and the United Kingdom upon its release and launched May into mainstream success after her performance of the song on Later... with Jools Holland on 23 September 2008. The song is also featured on the 2010 comedy-action movie Wild Target
.
on the RTÉ
music programme For One Night Only in 2011, May described the origin of the song, citing "boredom" as the reason for its writing.
The song was recorded during the Love Tattoo sessions at Embassy Studios, a sixteen-track analogue recording studio in a converted cow shed, near Basingstoke
, United Kingdom
. A remixed version of the song, mixed by Andy Bradfield, appears as a bonus track on May's second studio album Mayhem
, released in September 2010.
The song was performed during most of May's television appearances in promotion for Love Tatoo, including the 2009 Meteor Awards, Later... with Jools Holland, Loose Women
, and The Late Late Show
.
Though popular amongst May's fans and critics, the single failed to chart in neither Ireland nor the United Kingdom.
's A Farewell to Arms
. The music video uses an alternate mix of the song, which is also roughly twenty-one seconds shorter, to accompany the live performance clips.
Technical personnel
.
Standard CD single and digital download
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
musician Imelda May
Imelda May
Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
. Written solely by May, the song was released as her debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, and lead single from her second studio album, Love Tattoo
Love Tattoo
Love Tattoo is the second album by Irish singer Imelda May. "Johnny Got A Boom-Boom" and "Big Bad Handsome Man" were released as singles. The album reached number 1 in the Official Irish Top 100 Album Chart.-Track listing:...
, on 26 January 2009 on Ambassador Records, a sub-label of Universal Music Ireland
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. The song gained significant popularity in Ireland and the United Kingdom upon its release and launched May into mainstream success after her performance of the song on Later... with Jools Holland on 23 September 2008. The song is also featured on the 2010 comedy-action movie Wild Target
Wild Target
Wild Target is a 2010 comedy film, directed by Jonathan Lynn. It is based on the 1993 French film Cible Emouvante. Lucinda Coxon wrote the screenplay, and it was produced by Martin Pope and Michael Rose....
.
Origin and recording
The song is known to have been written by May early in her professional career after the release of her debut studio album No Turning Back. During an interview with Gay ByrneGay Byrne
Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne is a veteran Irish presenter of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of The Late Late Show over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999...
on the RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
music programme For One Night Only in 2011, May described the origin of the song, citing "boredom" as the reason for its writing.
"I was in another band and I was writing all my own stuff and I was itching to my own stuff. There was a soundcheck that was just going on and on and on... and my heart just wasn't in what I was doing anymore. My creativity was going overtime and during soundcheck, the double bass was doing it and I just started [writing it]. And there's a little nod to John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
and "Boom Boom Boom" in there aswell."
The song was recorded during the Love Tattoo sessions at Embassy Studios, a sixteen-track analogue recording studio in a converted cow shed, near Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A remixed version of the song, mixed by Andy Bradfield, appears as a bonus track on May's second studio album Mayhem
Mayhem (Imelda May album)
Mayhem is the third studio album by Irish rockabilly singer Imelda May, released on 3 September 2010 in Ireland and on 4 October 2010 in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
, released in September 2010.
Release and promotion
Though released as a single in January 2009, "Johnny Got a Boom Boom" saw its initial release through the promotional music video which was released in November 2008.The song was performed during most of May's television appearances in promotion for Love Tatoo, including the 2009 Meteor Awards, Later... with Jools Holland, Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
, and The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
.
Though popular amongst May's fans and critics, the single failed to chart in neither Ireland nor the United Kingdom.
Music video
Filmed on location in Dublin, the promotional music video for "Johnny Got a Boom Boom" is compiled of a dubbed live performance of the song in a small venue and clips of May and her band alongside the docks in the city. The video opens and closes with May doing her make-up in a mirror and her case resting on a copy of Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance...
. The music video uses an alternate mix of the song, which is also roughly twenty-one seconds shorter, to accompany the live performance clips.
Musicians and personnel
The Imelda May Band- Imelda MayImelda MayImelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, bodhránBodhránThe bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side... - Darrel HighamDarrel HighamDarrel Higham is an English rockabilly guitarist.-Career:Higham started playing lead guitar with British rockabilly bands in the late 1980s. By the mid-1990s, he had created the band that would become his main gigging and recording project: Darrel Higham & The Enforcers...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Al Gare - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Dean Beresford - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion - Danny McCormack - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, hammondHammond-Canada:*Hammond River, a small river in New Brunswick*Upper Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia*Hammond, Ontario, Canada, now Clarence-Rockland, Ontario.*Port Hammond, British Columbia, also known as Hammond or Hammond's Landing-United States of America:... - Dave Priseman - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelFlügelFlügel may refer to:*The Harpsichord in the 18th and early 19th centuries*The Grand Pianoforte in the late 19th century *The flugelhorn*The "wing" or tenor joint of the Bassoon*The following persons:...
, percussion
Technical personnel
- Imelda May - producer, engineer, mixing
- Guy Davie - mastering
Track listing
All songs written by Imelda MayImelda May
Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
.
Standard CD single and digital download
- "Johnny Got a Boom Boom" (radio edit) - 2:38
- "Why Don't You Do Right" - 3:15