"Bad Boys" | ||||
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![]() Swedish single picture sleeve, 1990 | ||||
Single by Inner Circle | ||||
from the album One Way and Bad Boys/Bad to the Bone | ||||
B-side | "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" | |||
Released | 1 October 1987 | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 3:52 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ian Lewis | |||
Producer(s) | Ian Lewis, Touter Harvey, Roger Lewis | |||
Inner Circle singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Bad Boys" is a 1987 song by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, which gained high popularity in the United States after its re-release in 1993, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Top 40 Mainstream. [1] It is the opening theme to the American TV show Cops and the theme song of the Bad Boys franchise.
The song was originally released in October 1987 on the album One Way. [2] In 1992, it was also included on the Bad to the Bone album, and the song was released as a single in 1993, after the unexpected success of their previous international hit single "Sweat (A La La La La Long)". "Bad Boys" reached number 52 in the United Kingdom [3] and number eight in the United States. [1] In the latter territory, it was certified Gold and sold 600,000 copies. [4] [5] The song was also released as B-side on Inner Circle's 1992 single, "Sweat (A La La La La Long)". [6] The song was also released as a single in mid-1991 in Norway and Finland, where it peaked at number one.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [20] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [21] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Bad Boys" was selected as the theme song for Cops because a field producer for the show happened to be a fan of Inner Circle. [22] The song, which was very popular during the 1990s, is also used in the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action/comedy film series Bad Boys , which was named after the song. [23] [24]
A parody of the song was used in a fourth season episode of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat where the chorus goes "Good boys, good boys; whatcha gonna do?" [25]
Another parody of the song is used in the 125th episode of Your Grammar Sucks where Jack Douglass goes "Bad boys, bad boy; Was you gonna do? What you gonna do if it's come for you?" [26]
Another parody of this song is used in a Wendy's commercial for the new Biggie Bag, the song goes, "Bag boys, bag boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when we bring your food?" It follows with Bad Boys being played in the background near the end of the commercial. [27]
The song was parodied in the Simpsons episode Homer's Triple Bypass, and is depicted as the title song for the fictional TV series COPS: In Springfield. After the titular phrase is repeated several times, the lyrics are heard, "Springfield Cops are on the take, But what do expect for the money we make? Whether in a car or on a horse, We don't mind using excessive force!"
Inner Circle, also known as The Inner Circle Band or The Bad Boys of Reggae, are a Jamaican reggae band formed in Kingston in 1968. The band first backed The Chosen Few in the early 1970s before joining with successful solo artist Jacob Miller and releasing a string of records. This era of the band ended with Miller's death in a car crash in 1980.
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"Sweat (A La La La La Long)" is a song by Jamaican reggae fusion band Inner Circle, released in July 1992 by Warner Records as the lead single from their twelfth album, Bad to the Bone (1992). It was written by the band's Ian and Roger Lewis, and produced by them with another band member, Touter Harvey. Song was vocalised by a past member Calton Coffie. It became a number-one hit in Belgium, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe. In the US, it reached numbers 16 and 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. The accompanying music video, depicting the group on the beach, was directed by Mathias Julien. Australian music channel Max included "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" in their list "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2017.
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Bad to the Bone is an album by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle. Two versions of the album were released in 1992, and a U.S. re-issue titled Bad Boys was released in 1993. The U.S. re-issue won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Bad to the Bone and Bad Boys contain the singles "Sweat ", "Rock with You", and "Bad Boys".
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