"My Boyfriend's Back" is a song by the pop girl group, the Angels. It was written by the songwriting team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born June 12, 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. His career began as a Brill Building songwriter in the 1960s. His first number one record as a songwriter and producer was " My Boyfr ...

(a.k.a. FGG Productions who later formed the group the Strangeloves) and released as a single on July 1, 1963. The track was originally intended as a demo for

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

, but ended up being released as recorded. The single spent three weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reached No. 2 on the R&B Billboard.

Description

The song is a word of warning to a would-be suitor who, after being rebuffed by the female narrator of the song, spread nasty rumors accusing her of romantic indiscretions. Now, the narrator declares, her boyfriend is back in town and ready to settle the score, and she warns the rejected admirer to watch himself. Other musicians on the record include Herbie Lovelle on drums, Billy Butler, Bobby Comstock, and Al Gorgoni on guitar, and

Bob Bushnell Robert C. Bushnell (1926 – January 31, 2016) was an American bass player and guitarist who has appeared on dozens of albums and singles as a studio musician, including Bobby Lewis's hit " Tossin' and Turnin'" (1961), " My Boyfriend's Back" ...

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio Music track, tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto o ...

on an electric and an

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

. This song also features a young Ronnie Dio on the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

. Feldman, Goldstein & Gottehrer also wrote and produced some of Dio's early work with the band Ronnie Dio & The Prophets. The song begins with a spoken recitation from the lead singer that goes: "He went away, and you hung around, and bothered me every night. And when I wouldn't go out with you, you said things that weren't very nice". An extended version of the song, which has appeared on a few compilations in stereo, features (after the final verse) the line: "Hey, I can see him comin'/Now, you better start a-runnin'", before an instrumental repeat of the bridge section and a repeat of a line from the final verse ("My boyfriend's back/He's gonna save my reputation"), and, finally, the coda section and fade out. The inspiration for the song came from co-writer Bob Feldman, who overheard a conversation between a high school girl and the boy she was rebuffing. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a handclappin’ mashed-potatoes-styled delighter...that can bust wide open in no time flat" and praised the

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

by Leroy Glover. ''Billboard'' named the song No. 24 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Notable cover versions

"My Boyfriend's Back" has been the subject of several notable

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s. Rival girl groups the Chiffons and

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annett ...

recorded covers shortly after the Angels' original release. In 1983,

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

released a faithful cover version as a single that reached No. 33 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. Later in 1963, Bobby Comstock and the Counts issued an answer record titled "Your Boyfriend's Back" which peaked at No. 98 in the U.S.

Parodies, features and references

Humorist

Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally Print syndication, syndicated humor column for the ''Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as we ...

is fond of this song, and often references it in his books and columns. In one essay, he says that if he were the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, "My Boyfriend's Back" would replace " Hail to the Chief" as his arrival song. A 1993 teen horror comedy originally intended to be titled "Johnny Zombie" (in reference to the 1961 song "Johnny Angel") had the title changed to '' My Boyfriend's Back'' just before release. Despite the title, the film is about a teenage boy coming back as a zombie in order to date the girl he's been in love with since childhood. The film was not a success, but features early appearances by actors such as

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character actor, character roles—eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical productio ...

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

, and

Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned him G ...

. A parody of the song lyrics was sung by characters of '' The Office (US)'' in Season 8 – Episode 21 "Angry Andy". Episode 30 of the podcast Cum Town starts with co-host Stavros Halkias singing a parody version called "My Boyfriend's Black". Since 1988, advertising campaigns for

Hess Corporation Hess Corporation (formerly Amerada Hess Corporation) is an American global independent energy company involved in the oil exploration, exploration and production of Petroleum, crude oil and natural gas. It was formed by the merger of Hess Oil and ...

have used a

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

that parodies the song in the commercials during the

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...

for its

toys A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

. (“The Hess Truck's back and it's better than ever...”)

Charts

References

{{authority control 1963 songs 1963 singles Songs written by Richard Gottehrer Songs written by Jerry Goldstein (producer) The Angels (American group) songs Sarah Brightman songs The Raveonettes songs Santo & Johnny songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Smash Records singles Songs written by Bob Feldman