“Blue Moon” is a classic popular song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, and has become a standard ballad. The song was a hit twice in 1949 with successful recordings by Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé. In 1961, “Blue Moon” became an international number one hit for the doo-wop group The Marcels, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and in the UK Singles chart. (More from Wikipedia)
The name of the Greg Shaw magazine called Who Put the Bomp is taken from “Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)”, a Top-40 hit by Barry Mann. This was basically a one-hit wonder, but Mann always concentrated mostly on his songwriting, and he is well known for numerous songs that were co-written with his wife Cynthia Weil. Barry Mann’s songwriting credits include an astounding 635 songs.
“Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)” – which was co-written by Barry Mann and Gerry Goffin (an even more famous songwriter who co-wrote numerous 1960’s classics with his then-wife Carole King) – parodied and also honored the doo-wop songs of early rock and roll. The singer is thanking the authors of these songs who helped his girl fall in love with him. The “bomp bomp bomp” itself comes from the Marcels’ marvelous, over-the-top version of “Blue Moon”; another famous nonsense chorus, “rama lama ding dong” is also referenced, from “Rama Lama Ding Dong” by the Edsels.
(May 2013)
