Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
Single by Cher
from the album The Sonny Side of Chér
B-side "Needles and Pins" "Our Day Will Come"
Released 1966
Format 7" single
Recorded 1966
Genre Folk rock
Length 2:44
Label Imperial
Writer(s) Sonny Bono
Producer(s) Sonny Bono
Cher singles chronology
"Where Do You Go"
(1965)
"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
(1966)
"Alfie"
(1966)

"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second studio album, The Sonny Side of Chér. Written by her then-husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966, the song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week (behind "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" by The Righteous Brothers), eventually becoming one of Cher's biggest-selling singles of the 1960s.[1][2]

Song history

The single proved successful, charting high in several countries worldwide. It became Cher's first million-selling single and her first top 3 hit in the UK (and her last until "The Shoop-Shoop Song" reached No. 1 in 1991). Critic Tim Sendra, in his album review of The Sonny Side of Cher, gave the song a mixed review: "The only track that has any real zest is the Bono-written novelty "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," the kind of dramatic song Cher could knock out in her sleep but also a song with no real heart."[3]

In 1987, Cher recorded a rock version of the song for her 1987 Platinum-certified comeback album Cher. Produced by Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, the song featured backing vocals by Jon Bon Jovi and Michael Bolton, among others, and was released as a promotional single in 1988. Cher performed this version on her Heart of Stone Tour and on Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, and it was played instrumentally on the Dressed to Kill Tour in 2014.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1966) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 11
Austrian Singles Chart[4] 6
Belgian Singles Chart 9
Canadian RPM Top Singles[5] 4
Dutch Singles Chart 16
German Singles Chart 17
Irish Singles Chart 3
Italian Singles Chart 6
New Zealand Singles Chart 2
Polish Singles Chart 15
South Africa Singles Chart 10
Swedish Singles Chart 12
UK Singles Chart[6] 3
US Billboard Hot 100 2
US Cash Box Top 100[7] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1966) Position
German Singles Chart[8] 114
Italian Singles Chart[9] 35
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 53
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 60

Cover versions

Nancy Sinatra recorded one of the best-known covers of the song, for her 1966 album How Does That Grab You? Her version features tremolo guitar, played by her arranger, Billy Strange;[12] and had a resurgence in popularity when it was used in the opening credits of the 2003 Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill Volume 1. In the sequence preceding the credits, Tarantino creates a literal, bloody interpretation of the song's chorus and the third verse, about a wedding day.[13] Her version also was the theme for BBC coverage of the 2005 Wimbledon tennis championships, and has been sampled on several hip-hop recordings, including the Audio Bullys (featuring Nancy Sinatra) top 3 UK hit "Shot You Down" in 2005.

Besides Sinatra, artists who covered the song in 1966 include Stevie Wonder on his album Down to Earth, The Beau Brummels on Beau Brummels '66; Petula Clark on her album I Couldn't Live Without Your Love; and Gábor Szabó on his album Spellbinder. Sheila's version (with French lyrics) became a big hit in France in the summer of 1966; Claire Lepage's French-language cover was released in Canada (as "Bang! Bang!") The song was also very popular in Italy in the '60s and was covered in Italian by Dalida, Mina, and the psych bands Equipe 84 and I Corvi.[14]


Other notable cover versions include those by:

References

  1. "Cher - Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. "Music: Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
  3. The Sonny Side of Cher - Cher | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic
  4. Austrian Singles Chart . Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  5. Canadian Singles Chart . Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (1966). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 53.
  7. "Cash Box 100 Singles chart
  8. German Singles Chart (1966). "German Singles Chart; End of year charts". Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  9. "Top Annuali Single: 1966" (in Italian). www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  10. "UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 1966 - Year End". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  11. "Billboard Top 100 - 1966". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  12. "Guitarist Billy Strange Talks About Nancy Sinatra's 'Bang Bang' « Lost & Sound". Lostandsound.wordpress.com. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  13. "Bang Bang: Pop! Goes the Murder Ballad". Murder Ballad Monday. Sing Out!. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  14. "I Corvi - Bang bang (1966)". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  15. "Jazz Digital Songs: Oct 11, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014. (subscription required (help)).
  16. "Watch Beyoncé Sing "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" To Jay Z". BuzzFeed.

External links

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