“Cherry Bomb” is a 1976 punk-influenced hard rock single by the all-girl band The Runaways from their self-titled debut album. It is regarded by many as the band’s signature song. “Cherry Bomb” was also ranked 52nd on VH1’s 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. It reached number 1 on the Japanese chart, and number 106 on the American chart. (More from Wikipedia)
When Cherie Currie had auditioned to join the Runaways, the other bandmembers quickly came up with a song called “Cherry Bomb” – named after a famous firework, and not the John Mellencamp song by the same name, “Cherry Bomb” – that she was asked to sing instead of the Suzi Quatro song that she had picked out. The song features a line in the chorus “Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!” that was a play on her first name; Joan Jett and Kim Fowley are credited as the songwriters. “Cherry Bomb” became the opening track on their album and the band’s first single; while “Cherry Bomb” only made it to #106 on the Billboard singles charts, the song was named #52 on the list of the greatest hard rock songs of all time by VH1.
The Runaways’ sole hit “Cherry Bomb” was included on the tape Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 that was prominently featured in the 2014 mega-hit Guardians of the Galaxy. Not surprisingly, an album called Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 has also been released, and it too includes “Cherry Bomb”. In his Allmusic review of the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine says that “the ‘Awesome Mix’ . . . offers a nostalgia trip that’s potent even if you’ve never seen the film”.
(January 2015/1)
