Barry Mann - Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp) (1961)

Barry Mann has written over six hundred thirty-five songs. Out of them, forty-six have been played more than a million times on the radio. He co-wrote “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (for The Righteous Brothers); “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (for The Animals); numerous songs for movies (Top Gun, Christmas Vacation, etc.); and many, many others.

Despite his accomplished career as a songwriter, Mann sometimes took the spotlight and sang songs, as well. In 1961, he sang the song heard below, which he had co-written with Gerry Goffin. The lyrics of this novelty song tell the somewhat true tale of how doo-wop music led his girl to fall in love with him. In a sense, this was true, as Mann and his future wife/songwriting partner, Cynthia Weil, had worked together writing doo-wop songs for groups of the time.

The song was released the same month that Mann and Weil got married, August 1961, and reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Songs referenced in this track, via various onomatopoeias, include The Marcels’ “Blue Moon,” The Diamonds’ “Little Darlin’,” Chubby Checker’s “Pony Time,” and The Edsels’ “Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong.”



Barry Mann - Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp) (1961)

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Lyrics:

I’d like to thank the guy
Who wrote the song
That made my baby fall in love with me

Who put the “bomp”
In the “bomp ba bomp ba bomp”?
Who put the “ram”
In the “rama-lama-ding-dong”?
Who put the “bop”
In the “bop shoo bop shoo bop”?
Who put the “dip”
In the “dip-da-dip-da-dip”?
Who was that man?
I’d like to shake his hand
He made my baby fall in love with me
(Yeah)

When my baby heard
“Bomp ba ba bomp”
“Ba bomp ba bomp ba”
Every word went right into her heart
And when she heard them singin’
“Rama lama lama lama”
“Lama ding dong”
She said we’d never have to part

So
Who put the “bomp”
In the “bomp ba bomp ba bomp”?
Who put the “ram”
In the “rama-lama-ding-dong”?
Who put the “bop”
In the “bop shoo bop shoo bop”?
Who put the “dip”
In the “dip-da-dip-da-dip”?
Who was that man?
I’d like to shake his hand
He made my baby fall in love with me
(Yeah)

Each time that we’re alone
“Boogity boogity boogity”
“Boogity boogity boogity shoop”
Sets my baby’s heart all aglow
And every time we dance to
“Dip da dip da dip”
“Dip da dip da dip”
She always says she loves me so

So
Who put the “bomp”
In the “bomp ba bomp ba bomp”?
Who put the “ram”
In the “rama-lama-ding-dong”?
Who put the “bop”
In the “bop shoo bop shoo bop”?
Who put the “dip”
In the “dip-da-dip-da-dip”?
Who was that man?
I’d like to shake his hand
He made my baby fall in love with me
(Yeah)

Darling, bomp ba bomp ba bomp ba bomp bomp. And my honey, rama lama ding dong forever. And when I say, “dip da dip, da dip, da dip,” you know I mean it from the bottom of my boogity boogity boogity shoop.

Paul Revere & The Raiders - Kicks (1966)

Born Paul Revere Dick in Harvard, Nebraska on January 7th, 1938, this group’s namesake man made his start at life owning and managing multiple restaurants in the Caldwell, Idaho area in his early twenties. On the side, Revere had a band called The Downbeats. One day in 1958 while purchasing hamburger buns from a local bakery for his restaurants, Revere met one of the bakery’s employees, Mark Lindsay. Lindsay would eventually join Revere’s band as the group’s lead singer and, by 1960, the band had changed their name to Paul Revere & The Raiders (just before the release of their first single). A year later in 1961, the group had their first local hit with an instrumental song, “Like, Long Hair,” released in 1961. By April, the song had reached the national charts topping out at number thirty-eight and the group thought they were on their way. Unfortunately, it was around this time that Revere was drafted for military service. Claiming to be a conscientious objector, Revere managed to stay out of fatigues and worked as a cook in a mental institution for a year and a half. Initially, throughout the summer of 1961, Lindsay toured off of the success of their hit single with replacement band members, but then had to pump gas to make a living until the summer of ’62 when Revere was finally relieved of his duty. Rounding out their band, the group again thought they had struck gold when they recorded “Louie Louie” in 1963. What they didn’t know was that at the same time another band, known as The Kingsmen, had been recording the same song. As Mark Lindsay once summed it up, “they [The Kingsmen] got the huge hit single…but we got the career!”

Written by married couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, this song was inspired by the couple’s friend, Gerry Goffin, who had been ruining his marriage to fellow songwriting partner Carole King with excessive drug use. At a time when most songs were talking about using and abusing mind-altering substances, this song was firmly clear about taking a stand against drug us. Originally offered to The Animals, it was turned down by Eric Burdon and later given to this group in 1966. The release of the song garnered accusations that the band had “sold out” and had “become a part of the establishment,” while David Crosby of The Byrds had called it “a dumb anti-drug song.” Despite its unpopular anti-drug theme, the song still managed to reach number four in the United States and number three in Canada. It stills receives regular airplay on the radio to this day.



Paul Revere & The Raiders - Kicks (1966)

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Lyrics:

Girl, you thought you found the answer on that magic carpet ride last night
But when you wake up in the mornin’ the world still gets you uptight
Well, there's nothin' that you ain't tried to fill the emptiness inside
But when you come back down, girl, still ain't feelin' right

(And don't it seem like)
Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find
And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight

No, but not with kicks
You just need help, girl

Well you think you're gonna find yourself a little piece of paradise
But it ain't happened yet, so girl, you better think twice
Don't you see? No matter what you do, you'll never run away from you
And if you keep on runnin', you'll have to pay the price

(And don't it seem like)
Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find
And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight

No, you don't need kicks
To help you face the world each day
That road goes nowhere
I'm gonna help you find yourself another way

(Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find)
Oh, you don't need kicks, girl
(And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind)
You just need help, girl
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight

And don't it seem like
(Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find)
Oh, you don't need kicks, girl
(And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind)
Oh, you just need help, girl
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight…