Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
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"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
from her second album, ''
The Sonny Side of Chér ''The Sonny Side of Chér'' is the second studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on March 28, 1966, by Imperial, as her second album, Cher again collaborated with Sonny Bono and Harold Battiste. The album is by-and-large a covers ...
''. It was written by her husband
Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republica ...
and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a week (behind " (You're My) Soul and Inspiration" by
The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...
), eventually becoming one of Cher's biggest-selling singles of the 1960s.


History

The single proved successful, charting high in several countries. 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 (It's in His Kiss) "It's in His Kiss" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark. It was first released as a single in 1963 by Merry Clayton that did not chart. The song was made a hit a year later when recorded by Betty Everett, who hit No. 1 on the ''Cashbox' ...
" 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." The reviewer for ''Cashbox'' said the song was "inventive" and predicted it would become a "blockbuster" hit. The reviewer praised its "plaintive, blues-soaked" style, as well as the "interesting Gypsy-ish backing". In 1987, Cher recorded a rock version of the song for her 1987 Platinum-certified comeback album ''
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
''. Produced by
Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...
,
Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...
and
Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...
, the song featured backing vocals by Jon Bon Jovi and
Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998.
(born February 26, 1953), known professio ...
, among others and was released as a promotional single in 1988. Cher performed this version on her
Heart of Stone Tour The Heart of Stone Tour was the second solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour supported her nineteenth studio album, '' Heart of Stone''. A mini tour was set up in the summer 1989, and a second leg started in 1990. The tour ...
and on Living Proof: The Farewell Tour and it was played instrumentally on the Dressed to Kill Tour in 2014,
Classic Cher Classic Cher was the third concert residency by American singer-actress Cher. The show is performed in Las Vegas, Oxon Hill, and Atlantic City. Set list This set list is representative for the opening concert on February 8, 2017. #" Woman's W ...
in 2017–2020 and the
Here We Go Again Tour The Here We Go Again Tour was the seventh solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher in support of her twenty-sixth studio album '' Dancing Queen''. This was the first time the singer had embarked on a world tour since her Living Proof: ...
in 2018–2020.


Track listing

* 1966 US and European 7" single # "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" – 2:40 # "
Our Day Will Come "Our Day Will Come" is a popular song composed by Mort Garson with lyrics by Bob Hilliard. It was recorded by American R&B group Ruby & the Romantics in early December 1962, reaching #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Ruby & the Romantics' orig ...
" – 2:28 * 1987 French 7" single # "Bang-Bang" – 3:51 # "
I Found Someone "I Found Someone" is the name of a chart single originally written and composed for Laura Branigan by Michael Bolton and Touch keyboardist Mark Mangold. The song was a bigger hit for Cher in 1987, reaching the Top 10. Background Though best ...
" – 3:42 * 1993 French CD single # "Bang-Bang" – 3:54 # "
Whenever You're Near "Whenever You're Near" is a song composed by Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw, recorded by American singer and actress Cher. Song information "Whenever You're Near" was one of three songs recorded exclusively for Cher's first European compilation, '' ...
" – 4:05


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Other versions

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...
recorded one of the best-known covers of the song, for her 1966 album '' How Does That Grab You?'' Featuring
tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single Musical note, note, particularly used on String instrument#Bowing, bowed string instrument ...
guitar played by her arranger,
Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and an actor. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and M ...
, Sinatra's version had a resurgence in popularity when it was used in the opening credits of the 2003
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
film ''
Kill Bill Volume 1 ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...
''. In the sequence preceding the opening credits, Tarantino creates a literal, bloody interpretation of the song's chorus and the third verse, about a wedding day.
Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up—vocalist a ...
, an American band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, included the song in their eponymous album released in 1967. The song was also popular in Italy in 1966, when it was covered in Italian by
Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
, reaching number one and charting for two months, winning her a gold record. It appeared on her 1967 album, ''Piccolo Ragazzo''.
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
performed "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" in July 2014 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, for the TV special '' Cheek to Cheek Live!''. The live recording was made available as an
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
/
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
bonus track with her collaborative album with
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
, ''
Cheek to Cheek "Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for the star of his new musical, Fred Astaire. The movie was ''Top Hat'', co-starring Ginger Rogers.
''. Gaga's rendition of "Bang Bang" debuted at No. 1 on ''
Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
'' Jazz Digital Songs Chart and was well-received by critics. The singer would later include the song in her tours and residency shows.
Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...
recorded a funky, upbeat cover of "Bang Bang" for the soundtrack of the 2022 film '' Minions: The Rise of Gru'', which also features a version in Chinese by
G.E.M. Gloria Tang Sze-wing (born 16 August 1991), professionally known as G.E.M. (backronym of Get Everybody Moving) or Tang Tsz-kei (), is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter originally from Shanghai, China. She made her debut in the Hong Kong music in ...
, and several other modern covers of older songs.


References


External links


"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
Sheet music for Billy Strange's tremolo guitar part * * {{authority control 1966 singles 1966 songs 1988 singles American folk rock songs Cher songs Imperial Records singles Nancy Sinatra songs Petula Clark songs Songs written by Sonny Bono Anita Lindblom songs Lady Gaga songs