Bad Girls (song)
Encyclopedia
"Bad Girls" is a 1979
single
released by American
singer Donna Summer
, co-written by Summer and the Brooklyn Dreams
. The inspiration for her to write the song came after one of her assistants was offended by a police officer
who thought she was a street prostitute.
A rough version of the song had originally been written a couple of years before its release. Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, upon hearing it, wanted Donna to give it to Cher
for her upcoming album. Donna refused and put it away for a couple of years.
The song became a number-one hit on the Billboard pop
, R&B
and dance
singles charts simultaneously becoming, alongside "Hot Stuff
", her most successful single. The song helped the album of the same name
to reach the multi-platinum status in the United States. A 12" single of the song was released as a medley with "Hot Stuff".
Although "Hot Stuff" was extended for the 12" single, "Bad Girls" remained in the 4:55 album version. A "Bad Girls" 12" single with a time of
6:55 was produced but never released commercially. A demo version of the song was released on the "Deluxe Edition" of the "Bad Girls" CD.
Where There's Smoke...".
1979 in music
See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...
single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
, co-written by Summer and the Brooklyn Dreams
Brooklyn Dreams (group)
The Brooklyn Dreams was a successful singing group of the late 1970s and early 1980s mixing R&B harmonies with contemporary dance/disco music and best-known for a number of collaborations with singer Donna Summer. The band consisted of Joe "Bean" Esposito, Eddie Hokenson and Bruce Sudano...
. The inspiration for her to write the song came after one of her assistants was offended by a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
who thought she was a street prostitute.
A rough version of the song had originally been written a couple of years before its release. Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, upon hearing it, wanted Donna to give it to Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
for her upcoming album. Donna refused and put it away for a couple of years.
The song became a number-one hit on the Billboard pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
singles charts simultaneously becoming, alongside "Hot Stuff
Hot Stuff (Donna Summer song)
"Hot Stuff" is a hit single released by American singer Donna Summer in 1979 as the first single release from her Bad Girls album through Casablanca Records...
", her most successful single. The song helped the album of the same name
Bad Girls (album)
Bad Girls is the seventh studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released April 25, 1979 on Casablanca Records. Originally issued as a double album, it incorporates such musical styles as disco, soul, and rock...
to reach the multi-platinum status in the United States. A 12" single of the song was released as a medley with "Hot Stuff".
Although "Hot Stuff" was extended for the 12" single, "Bad Girls" remained in the 4:55 album version. A "Bad Girls" 12" single with a time of
6:55 was produced but never released commercially. A demo version of the song was released on the "Deluxe Edition" of the "Bad Girls" CD.
Chart positions
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch GfK GfK The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health... chart |
10 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
7 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
1 |
Cover versions and appearances in other media
- Trinu and the Burger Queens covered the song.
- A remix of this song by Juliet RobertsJuliet RobertsJuliet Roberts is a British jazz, rock and house music singer of Grenadian descent.-Career:She originally recorded as Julie Roberts in 1982, and performed on the 1983 Top 10 hit single, "It's Over" by the Funkmasters...
appears in the 1999 music video gameMusic video gameA music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
arcade Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMixDance Dance Revolution 2ndMIXDance Dance Revolution 2ndMix, or 2ndMix, is the 2nd game in the Dance Dance Revolution series of music video games. It was released as an arcade game by Konami on January 19, 1999. Although only officially released in Japan, units exist worldwide...
. She covered this song as a no. 17 UK hit. - Jeffree StarJeffree StarJeffree Star is an American model, fashion designer, make-up artist, DJ, and singer-songwriter residing in the Beverly Hills area...
covered the song in 2010 for the MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
original movie Turn the Beat AroundTurn the Beat Around (film)Turn the Beat Around is an MTV original film produced by MTV and Paramount Pictures. It is loosely based upon the 1983 film Flashdance.-Plot:...
soundtrack extended play.
Sampling
- Its "toot-toot, beep-beep" chant would be sampled by hip hopHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists, most notably AaliyahAaliyahAaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
, in her album track, "Ladies in the House", from her 1996 release, One in a Million. - In 2006, Latin singer Lucero sampled the song in her remix song "La unica que te entiende" for her album Quiéreme Tal Como SoyQuiereme Tal Como SoyQuiéreme Tal Como Soy is the eighteenth studio album by singer Lucero. It was released in September 2006. The album contains reworked versions of some of the her greatest hits written by Rafael Pérez Botija and covers of music by Rocío Dúrcal, Mocedades and José José .On 29 November 2006 the album...
.
Appearances in other media
- In 1999, John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
danced to the song's tune wearing ladies clothes in the remake of The Out-of-TownersThe Out-of-Towners (1999 film)The Out-of-Towners is a 1999 film starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. The movie is a remake of a 1970 film by the same name; the original version, written by Neil Simon, starred Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis.-As remake of 1970 film:...
. - In 2000, Cheryl ChaseCheryl ChaseCheryl Chase is an American voice actress best known as the voice of Angelica Pickles on Rugrats, All Grown Up! and Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze...
, Kevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
, Billy WestBilly WestWilliam Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
, and Tim CurryTim CurryTimothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
coveredCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song in the movie Rugrats in ParisRugrats in Paris: The MovieRugrats in Paris: The Movie, also known as The Rugrats Movie 2: Rugrats in Paris and Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II, is 2000 American animated film, and the sequel to the 1998 film The Rugrats Movie that follows the continuing adventures of the Rugrats. In the film, Chuckie Finster takes...
. Chase did the voice of Angelica singing the song and most of the lyrics were changed in order to make the song appropriate for kids. Instead of street hookers, the theme of it was misbehaved children. - The song was also featured in a scene of the 2000 movie The ReplacementsThe Replacements (film)The Replacements is a 2000 American film directed by Howard Deutch. It stars Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton and Orlando Jones.-Plot:...
. - The song was also featured in a scene of the TV series Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
in the third season episode "
Where There's Smoke...".
- In 2004, the song was the theme to the TV show Bad Girls Most Wanted on ITV 1 hosted by Jack Ellis aka Jim FennerJim FennerJames Graham "Jim" Fenner is a fictional character in the British television series Bad Girls, portrayed by Jack Ellis.Fenner is the Principal Prison Officer, working on 'G wing' at HMP Larkhall Women's Prison, and is a regular major character during seven out of eight series of Bad Girls...
.