Bada Bing! is a fictional strip club from the HBO

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

.'' It was a key location for events in the series, named for the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"bada bing", a phrase popularized by James Caan's character

Sonny Corleone Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and its 1972 film adaptation. He is the eldest son of the mafia don Vito Corleone and Carmela Corleone. He has two brothers, Fredo and Michael, ...

in ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

''. The popularization of the fictional club benefited the real-life go-go bar, Satin Dolls, where scenes were filmed. The Bada Bing is loosely based on ''Wiggles'', a strip club owned by

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

mobster

Vincent Palermo Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (born June 4, 1944) is an Italian American former mobster who was ''de facto'' boss of the New Jersey DeCavalcante crime family before becoming a government witness in 1999. Fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, the protago ...

before it was shut down. Strippers at the Bada Bing were portrayed by extras including Elektra, Gina Lynn, Justine Noelle, Kelly Madison Kole, Luiza Liccini, Marie Athanasiou, Nadine Marcelletti, Rosie Ciavolino and Sonia Ortega. The "Bada Bing Girls" appeared in a photo spread in the August 2001 issue of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazine. Michelle Eileen, another frequently portrayed Bada Bing extra, also appeared in ''Playboy'' Fall 2002 with photo spreads over 3 separate ''Playboy Special Edition'' magazines.

Use and effect on the series

The Bing is owned and chiefly operated by

Silvio Dante Silvio Manfred Dante is a fictional character on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos'', played by Steven Van Zandt. He is the consigliere and right-hand man to Tony Soprano in the DiMeo crime family. John Magaro portrays a young Silvio Dante in ...

Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the antihero protagonist in the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, especially late ...

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...

, in

Lodi, New Jersey Lodi (; ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 24,136,DiMeo crime family often conduct their business either in the office or at the bar. The use of Bada Bing as the name of the club and elsewhere in the series popularized the catchphrase such that it was added to the 2003

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

as an exclamation to emphasize that something will happen effortlessly and predictably. Bada bing is imitative of the sound of a

drumroll A drum roll (or roll for short) is a technique used by percussionists to produce a sustained sound for the duration of a written note.Cirone, Anthony J. (1991). Simple Steps to Snare Drum', p.30-31. Alfred. . "The purpose of the roll is t ...

rim shot A rimshot is a percussion technique used to produce an accented snare drum backbeat. The sound is produced by simultaneously hitting the rim and head of a drum with a drum stick. The sound and various techniques The sound of rimshots can ...

, or may also derive from the "bada-bing" sound effect that

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Suppo ...

's character,

, makes to describe an up-close shooting in ''

''.

Alcohol and nudity

Being a topless go-go bar selling alcoholic drinks, Bada Bing represents a deviation from reality insofar as real-world New Jersey state law prohibits topless or nude dancing in establishments that sell alcohol. However, New Jersey strip clubs without liquor licenses may opt to permit patrons to bring in their own alcoholic beverages, while full bars with liquor licenses are allowed to feature non-topless or non-nude go-go dancers (i.e. "bikini bars"). The show frequently used the club for sexposition scenes. Reviewer

Paul Levinson Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter, and professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. His novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into ...

described the Bada Bing, and its background of nudity, as a key setting for the series:

Key scenes

The Bing is where: * Tony Soprano and his crew find out

Jackie Aprile Sr. This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Sopran ...

has died from his illness. One of the dancers (played by Theresa Lynn) vows never to forget where she was the day Jackie died. * Tony Soprano cancels the hit on Don Hauser, his daughter's soccer coach, and an uncovered statutory rapist. * Tony and Sil agree to have

Richie Aprile This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Sopran ...

killed but are preempted by a deadly domestic dispute involving Richie and

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. *

and

Paulie Walnuts Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Sirico on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', one of the chief henchmen of series protagonist Tony Soprano. Sirico originally auditioned for the role of Uncle Junior w ...

agree to have Big Pussy whacked if they found out he was wearing a wire for sure. * Ralph Cifaretto beats his pregnant girlfriend Tracee, a Bing dancer, to death in the parking lot just outside the building. He gets beaten in turn by Tony for "disrespecting the Bing". *

Johnny Sack This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Sopran ...

informs Tony that he is prepared to reconcile with Ralph following an insult to Sack's wife, in turn allowing Tony to cancel a planned hit on him. *

Christopher Moltisanti Christopher Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. He is Tony Soprano's protégé and a member of the DiMeo crime family, rising from associate to captain over the course of th ...

threatens Tony with a gun for allegedly having an affair with his fiancée, but he has already emptied his gun of bullets by shooting Tony's old SUV in the parking lot, a burgundy 1998 Chevrolet Suburban, which Tony presumably is back to driving since totaling his white Escalade. * Tony makes the case for not killing

Vito Spatafore This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Sopran ...

over his homosexuality to Silvio and

Carlo Gervasi This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film '' The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Sopra ...

. * Paulie has a vision of the

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hovering over the dance floor, leading him to reconcile with his aunt and adoptive mother Marianucci. * Silvio Dante is shot several times in the parking lot on an ordered hit from Phil Leotardo. Patsy Parisi accompanies him but flees on foot. Silvio is hospitalized in critical condition. * Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte desperately and unsuccessfully try to gain the attention of Tony Soprano, angering him by openly boasting of criminal activities in his presence in the washroom. * Silvio Dante arrives at the club to open it in the morning and finds Christopher Moltisanti, coming down from a heroin binge vomiting heavily in the toilet, his hair in the toilet water. He later brings this up at Christopher's rehabilitation intervention.

Filming location

All interior and exterior shots of the Bada Bing were filmed on location at Satin Dolls, an actual go-go bar on Route 17 in

Lodi, New Jersey Lodi (; ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 24,136,"Bada Bing club, is auctioning 'Sopranos' memorabilia online"
''

Herald News The ''Herald News'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper headquartered in Woodland Park, New Jersey, that focuses on the Passaic County, New Jersey area. Today's ''Herald News'' is descended from several papers, but did not come to be until two Pas ...

'', August 25, 2007. Accessed August 29, 2007. Occasionally the neon "Satin Dolls" logo is visible on an interior wall of the club. The office scenes, however, were filmed on a sound stage at a different location. The popularity of the series and the notoriety of the Bada Bing! resulted in economic benefits through tours and souvenirs for the real-life club. After the series finale, the owners of the real bar decided to auction off the furnishings at the club and replace them with new ones. The club's name has inspired a coffee shop chain in New Jersey called Bada Bean.

References

External links

Official website of the Satin Dolls club
{{The Sopranos Lodi, New Jersey Fictional drinking establishments The Sopranos