Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by the American
new wave band
Devo
Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using
Letraset
Letraset was a company known mainly for manufacturing sheets of typefaces and other artwork elements using the dry transfer method. Letraset has been acquired by the Colart group and become part of its subsidiary Winsor & Newton.
Corporate histor ...
to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g". When the "i" was added but before the "e," Devo's lead singer
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...
reportedly remarked that the odd spelling "looked right."
Booji Boy has traits of a simian child and typically wears an orange nuclear protection suit. He is portrayed by Mothersbaugh in a mask and is the son of another fictitious Devo character,
General Boy General Boy is a character created around 1975 by new wave band Devo. He is usually seen portrayed by Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr., the father of Devo's lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh, former drummer Jim Mothersbaugh, and lead guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh ...
. The intent of the figure is to satirize infantile regression in Western culture, a quality Devo enjoyed elucidating. This character was officially introduced in the 1976 short film ''
The Truth About De-Evolution
''The Truth About De-Evolution'' (full title: ''In The Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-Evolution'') is a 9-minute short film written by Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, for the band Devo, and directed by Chuck Statler. Filmed in M ...
''.
According to the book ''We're All Devo!'', the roots of the character come from discovering a baby mask in an Akron area novelty store. Mothersbaugh developed the character's distinctive high pitched falsetto almost instantly. He had kept a supply of Booji Boy masks for several years, but due to improper storage, many of them ended up ruined from dry rot. A similar, half-head mask was used in concerts during 2004 and 2005, and a new mask based on the original was created and used beginning in 2007. In 2012, SikRik Masks in Devo's hometown of
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
made a new mask that more closely resembled the original. The company made 100 copies of the new mask, which were sold through Club Devo.
Booji Boy was incorporated into Devo's 1996 PC CD-ROM video game ''
Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol.'' His name was simplified to "Boogie Boy" and the game claims his "real name" was "Craig Allen Rothwell." Not coincidentally, this is also supposedly the real name of the dancer known as "Spazz Attack" who appeared in some of Devo's videos and played Booji Boy on a Devo tour.
The game's booklet contained more information about the character's back story:
Booji Boy has been featured in the band's visual imagery throughout their career. For example, he plays a prominent role in the video of their 1981 single "
Beautiful World." He also appeared in the 1982
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
film ''
Human Highway
''Human Highway'' is a 1982 American comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and the band Devo. Included is a ...
'' in a very comical yet unsettling role predicting the end of the planet. Booji is pictured on the cover art to
Recombo DNA
''Recombo DNA'' is a collection of studio demos and unreleased tracks by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in 2000 by Rhino Entertainment's Rhino Handmade label and limited to 5,000 copies.
Background
''Recombo DNA'' ...
. Booji Boy publicly announced his pending resignation on multiple occasions, most recently on August 13, 2007, yet he appeared at a
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
concert on July 4, 2010 and on July 8, 2010 at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York. Booji Boy continues to appear in concert regularly to perform "Beautiful World." In recent years, Booji Boy's concert appearances have seen him dressed in modern "hip hop" attire (including a sideways ball cap and sporting "bling"), with Devo bass guitarist
Gerald Casale
Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in ...
introducing him as "Boogie Boyyyyyy."
Beyond Devo's works, Booji appeared in the Zabagabee home video by
Barnes & Barnes
Barnes & Barnes are an American musical duo, formed in Los Angeles in 1970. Though commonly associated with novelty music and comedy rock, their music has also incorporated elements of new wave, synth-pop, and folk rock.
The duo formed in 197 ...
demonstrating how to
masturbate
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...
, and in the music video for "You Ain't Fresh" by hip hop duo
Boogie Boys
The Boogie Boys were an United States, American hip hop group from Harlem, New York City.
It was the first hip hop group that signed with Capitol Records, and it had a major hit in America in 1985 with the single "A Fly Girl" and two successful ...
.
Booji Boy Records
"Booji Boy" was also the name of the independent label Devo used to record their earliest songs. More recently it has become an archival release label, releasing old material of interest to fans.
The following vinyl releases were sold under the Booji Boy banner:
"My Struggle"
Mothersbaugh, as Booji Boy, wrote a book entitled ''My Struggle''. The title is the English translation of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's ''
Mein Kampf
(; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...
'' and the book featured a red leather cover as a poke at Chairman
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
's "
little red book
''Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung'' () is a book of statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong (formerly romanized as Mao Tse-tung), the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widel ...
".
Excerpts from the book can also be found hidden in Devo's
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
game "
Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol."
Songs performed by Booji Boy
Booji Boy primarily performs live, but his voice was used on several early Devo recordings, such as "Lost At Home (Tater Tot)" and an early version of "Smart Patrol." His only album appearances are the song "Puppet Boy" from ''
Shout'', Devo's cover of "
Bread and Butter" by
The Newbeats
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
and a re-recorded vocal track to the early demo "U Got Me Bugged," which appears on the soundtrack to ''
Devo Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol'' (performed by Pat Tierney instead of Mark Mothersbaugh).
In concert, Booji has performed several songs:
* "The Words Get Stuck In My Throat" - performed live in concert in 1977 and 1978. In 2000, a studio version was recorded for the compilation ''
Pioneers Who Got Scalped
''Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology'' is a compilation album by the American new wave band Devo, released in 2000 by Rhino Records. 17 of the 50 tracks were previously unreleased on CD, including single B-sides, outtakes, remixes, soundtrac ...
''. The song originates from the Japanese film ''
The War of the Gargantuas
is a 1966 '' kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon'', the film was a Japanese-American co-production; ...
''.
* "I Need a Chick" - performed at some shows in 1977 and 1978.
* "Red Eye" - performed on the 1978 tour, and seen in the film ''
The Men Who Make the Music
''The Men Who Make the Music'' was the first home video released by the American new wave band Devo. Finished in 1979, the film was set to be the first Video LP under the title "DevoVision" (advertised in the inner sleeve of the "Duty Now for the ...
.''
* "
In Heaven Everything Is Fine" and "The One That Gets Away" - performed in 1979. "
In Heaven
"In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)" (often referred to as simply "In Heaven") is a song performed by Peter Ivers, composed by Peter Ivers, with lyrics by David Lynch. The song is featured in Lynch's 1977 film ''Eraserhead'', and was subsequen ...
" was originally part of the soundtrack of the
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
film ''
Eraserhead
''Eraserhead'' is a 1977 American surrealist film, surrealist horror film written, directed, produced, and edited by David Lynch. Lynch also created its Eraserhead (soundtrack), score and sound design, which included pieces by a variety of oth ...
''.
* "
Gotta Serve Somebody
"Gotta Serve Somebody" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as the opening track on his 1979 studio album '' Slow Train Coming''. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1 ...
" - performed with Devo's alter-ego Dove, "the band of love." A live recording appears on the compilation album ''
Recombo DNA
''Recombo DNA'' is a collection of studio demos and unreleased tracks by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in 2000 by Rhino Entertainment's Rhino Handmade label and limited to 5,000 copies.
Background
''Recombo DNA'' ...
''.
* "U Got Me Bugged" - performed at two shows in late 1979, and again on the
Hardcore Devo tour in 2014
* "Tunnel of Life" - performed in 1980. Video of this performance appears on the ''
Devo Live 1980
''DEVO Live 1980'' is a live album and video DualDisc release by American new wave band Devo, released by Target Video in 2005.
Background
The release documents a performance by the band filmed on August 17, 1980, during their ''Freedom of Choic ...
'' DVD. (The instrumental version of this song, which appears on ''
Hardcore Devo: Volume Two'', is entitled "Booji Boy's Funeral.")
* "
Beautiful World" - performed since 1981.
* "
Hey Hey My My
"Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" is a song written by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Combined with its acoustic counterpart "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", it bookends Young's 1979 album ''Rust Never Sleeps''. The song was influenced ...
"- performed with
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
on ''
Human Highway
''Human Highway'' is a 1982 American comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, and the band Devo. Included is a ...
''
References
Bibliography
*''We're All Devo'' by Jade Dellinger and David Giffels, SAF Publishing Ltd; 2nd edition (21 August 2008),
External links
Devo's Official Website
{{Devo Discography
Devo
Fictional characters introduced in 1975
Fictional characters invented for recorded music
Primate mascots
Music mascots
Mascots introduced in 1975