- My Boyfriend's Back (song)
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"My Boyfriend's Back" 
Single by The Angels from the album My Boyfriend's Back B-side "(Love Me) Now" Released July 1963 Format 7" Recorded 1963 Genre Pop Length 02:14(45 version) Label Smash Records Writer(s) Bob Feldman
Jerry Goldstein
Richard GottehrerThe Angels singles chronology Cotton Fields
(1963)My Boyfriend's Back
(1963)I Adore Him
(1963)"My Boyfriend's Back" was a hit song in 1963 for The Angels, an American girl group. It was written by the songwriting team of Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer (a.k.a. FGG Productions who later formed the group The Strangeloves). The recording was originally intended as a demo for The Shirelles, but ended up being released as recorded.[1] The result was a single that spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number two on the R&B Billboard.
The song is a word of warning to a would-be suitor who, after the narrator of the song rebuffed his advances, went on to spread nasty rumours accusing the narrator of romantic indiscretions. Now, the narrator declares, her boyfriend is back in town and ready to settle the score, and she tells the rebuffed would-be suitor to watch his back.
The inspiration for the song was when co-writer Bob Feldman overheard a conversation between a high school girl and the boy she was rebuffing.[2]
Covers, parodies and references
"My Boyfriend's Back" has been the subject of several notable cover versions.
Rival girl groups The Chiffons and Martha and the Vandellas recorded covers shortly after The Angels' original release. Nearly twenty years later, Melissa Manchester released a faithful cover version as a single in 1983 that reached number 33 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[3] More than twenty years after that, the song was also covered by former American Idol contestant Paris Bennett on her 2007 album "Princess P."
The song has also been covered in punk rock-influenced recordings by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Bracket, and Australian female punk trio The Spazzys; in post-punk revival - The Raveonettes.
UK Powerpop originators The Pleasers featured the song as a highspot of their live stage shows as 'My Girlfriends Back' and recorded it for their Thamesbeat Album in 1978.
Bette Bright and the Illuminations released a cover version in 1978 as their single debut.
The rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's track "Guess Who's Back" borrows heavily from the structure and lyrics of "My Boyfriend's Back".
Fictional music group The Chipettes covered the song for "Hooping It Up," a 1986 episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
The song is featured in the 2006 Tony award winning musical, Jersey Boys. It was also featured on the U.S. television show "American Dreams," where it was sung by Christian Pop singer Stacie Orrico playing the lead singer of the Angels. Orrico was backed by series stars Brittany Snow (Meg Pryor) and Vanessa Lengies (Roxanne Bojarski).
A version of the tune has been used in a commercial jingle for the Hess toy truck, sung as "The Hess Truck's Back".
A cover by Australian band The Chantoozies featured in the film "The Crossing" (1990).
The song was parodied by Bob Ricci on his debut album Get a Life as "My Girlfriend's Back".
Sarah Brightman released a cover version of the song on a single in 1981.
In 1981, the band Dire Straits made a reference to the song in their hit Romeo and Juliet, from the album Making Movies.
The song figured prominently in the 1989 made for television film My Boyfriend's Back, which featured Jill Eikenberry, Sandy Duncan and Judith Light as former members of a fictitious girl group named The Bouffants. In the story, "My Boyfriend's Back" was their only hit song.
The song title was referenced for the 1993 film My Boyfriend's Back, directed by Bob Balaban.
The Disney Channel did a DTV music video of the song set to clips from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
The Raveonettes' cover of the song was used in The Vampire Diaries Episode 11 "Unpleasentville" [4]
Comedian Frank Caliendo often sings a cover of the song, with the lyrics changed to be about Brett Favre, when doing his John Madden impersonation. (My Brett Favre's back and your defense is in trouble/Hey now, hey now, my Brett Favre's Back!) A viral video was later posted on YouTube, with Caliendo's lyrics put over the original song.
In her 2006/2007 Under the Surface Tour, Marit Larsen covered the song.
In the TV show Will and Grace, episode 2.16 "Hey La, Hey La, My Ex-Boyfriend's Back", Jack and Will sing a brief version of the song before quickly going into dialogue.
In the Show The Good Guys, episode 3 "The Broken Door Theory" the cover of the song by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes was used during a shooting scene.
References
- ^ "Biography: The Angels". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3551. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
- ^ http://www.bobshannon.com/stories/Boyfriend.html
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-1993. Record Research. p. 147.
- ^ http://www.vampire-diaries.net/the-tv-series/music-from-the-series/season-one#111
Preceded by
"Fingertips - Part 2" by Little Stevie WonderBillboard Hot 100 number one single
August 31, 1963 (three weeks)Succeeded by
"Blue Velvet" by Bobby VintonCategories:- 1963 singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- The Angels (American group) songs
- Sarah Brightman songs
- The Raveonettes songs
- Songs written by Richard Gottehrer
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