Cherry Bomb (The Runaways song)

"Cherry Bomb" is the debut single by the all-female band The Runaways from their self-titled debut album, released on March 16, 1976 through Mercury Records.^[1] "Cherry Bomb" was ranked 52nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs^[6] and peaked at number 106 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

"Cherry Bomb"
Single by the Runaways
from the album The Runaways
B-side	"Blackmail"
Released	March 16, 1976 (1976-03-16) (US)[1] June 1976 (Canada)[2] September 1976 (France, Spain)[3] September 17, 1976 (1976-09-17) (UK, Austria)[3][4] 1976 (Japan)[5]
Recorded	February 1976
Studio	Fidelity Recorders (Studio City)
Genre	Hard rock
Label	Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Joan Jett, Kim Fowley
Producer(s)	Kim Fowley

About the song

Rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Joan Jett composed the song with Kim Fowley, the band's then-manager. In the documentary Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (2005), Fowley and former Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie claimed that "Cherry Bomb" was quickly written just for Currie to audition for the band because the band members could not perform the song she originally chose to sing.

The song was included in the soundtrack for the made for the TV movie: "Dawn Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" starring Eve Plumb, in 1976. The song was also included in the film Dazed and Confused (1993), the 16th episode of season 4 of Warehouse 13 with guest appearance by Currie (2013), the film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), in the second episode of the Amazon Prime series The Boys (2019), in the seventh episode of the FX/Hulu miniseries Mrs. America (2020), and in the Netflix film Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (2021).

Jett re-recorded the song with her band the Blackhearts for the album Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984). Cherie Currie also re-recorded "Cherry Bomb" with Marie Currie, her twin sister, on their 1997 re-released version of the album Messin' with the Boys (1980).

Personnel

^[1] The Runaways:

• Cherie Currie - lead vocals
• Lita Ford - lead guitar
• Joan Jett - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Sandy West - drums, backing vocals

Additional musician:

• Nigel Harrison - bass guitar (uncredited)

Charts

Chart (1976–1977)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7]	57
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[8]	106

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "The Runaways - Cherry Bomb". Radio Flora TM. September 19, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
2. https://www.45cat.com/record/73819c. Retrieved March 26, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. "The Runaways - Cherry Bomb". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
4. https://www.45cat.com/record/6167392. Retrieved March 26, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. https://www.45cat.com/record/sfl2121. Retrieved March 26, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. 52nd Greatest Hard Rock Song Archived February 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
7. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. 1993. p. 261. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
8. Whitburn, Joel (1998). Bubbling Under Singles & Albums. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 311. ISBN 0-89820-128-4.
9. "British single certifications – Runaways – Cherry Bomb". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 3, 2023.