The Righteous Brothers stayed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 19, 1966, with ‘(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.’ That song would surrender its perch the following week.
At #2 was Cher’s ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),’ a track written by Sonny Bono and released on her sophomore solo album, The Sonny Side of Chér. This was the highest-charting song of Cher’s solo career until her trio of #1 hits in the 70s with the increasingly problematic titles ‘Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,’ ‘Half-Breed,’ and ‘Dark Lady.’
I didn’t realize ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ was a Cher song. I assumed it was originally recorded by Nancy Sinatra, whose version is used to excellent effect in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1.
Cher recorded a rock version of the song for her self-titled 1987 album, featuring backing vocals by Jon Bon Jovi and Michael Bolton. It’s dripping with 80s bombast and actually kind of awesome.
I was five and he was six
We rode on horses made of sticks
He wore black and I wore white
He would always win the fight
[Chorus]
Bang bang, you shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down
[Verse 2]
Seasons came and changed the time
When I grew up, I called him mine
He would always laugh and say
“Remember when we used to play?”
[Chorus]
“Bang bang, I shot you down
Bang bang, you’d hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, I used to shoot you down”
[Bridge]
Music played and people sang
Just for me the church bells rang
Hey
Hey
Hey
Hey
[Verse 3]
Now he’s gone, I don’t know why
And till this day, sometimes I cry
He didn’t even say goodbye
He didn’t take the time to lie
[Chorus]
Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down
Meet Me In Montauk 