Ringo Starr’s ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ Clearly Inspired 1 Classic Rock Hit
A classic rock song from the 1990s sounds a lot like Ringo Starr’s “Back Off Boogaloo.” The two tracks have melodically identical choruses. Despite this, a member of the 1990s band didn’t connect the track to “Back Off Boogaloo” at all.
The chorus of Warrant’s ‘Cherry Pie’ sounds a lot like Ringo Starr’s ‘Back Off Boogaloo’
Part of the reason why “Back Off Boogaloo” is one of Ringo’s most famous singles is its infectious, stomping chorus. You don’t need to understand the song or hear it more than once to get that melody stuck in your head for hours.
Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” essentially borrows that melody. The main difference is that Ringo’s song is supposed to be angry while Warrant’s is supposed to be risque. It’s easy to understand why Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” was such as success in the early 1990s. It draws from a 1970s song and 1970s nostalgia was huge at the time.
Robert Mason explained why he thinks Warrant’s ‘Cherry Pie’ was a pop hit
Robert Mason is a member of Warrant. During a 2020 interview with Audio Ink Radio, Mason discussed the appeal of “Cherry Pie.” He didn’t connect the hit to “Back Off Boogaloo” in any way. “It’s big power chords,” he said.
“It’s simple melody and lyrics — and you know, c’mon, it’s about sex!” he added. “That’s what rock ‘n’ roll is slang for, anyway. It’s how it all started. It’s one of those songs that just ended up connecting with so many people.
“And it was a time, too,” he continued. “You have to remember that was 30 years ago. Look at what the world was like. Look at what communication was like. Look at what MTV was like. A lot hinged — that generation that really latched on to that all that late ’80s, early ’90s music caught, maybe it was the last real good gasp of what people call hair metal or L.A., Sunset Strip — all those silly words that everybody likes to label you with. It was kind of nearing to the end of that before it sort of imploded upon itself. I think it was an amazing time.”
How Ringo Starr’s ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ and Warrant’s ‘Cherry Pie’ performed
“Back Off Boogaloo” was a hit for Ringo. It reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. While the song was popular, it got overshadowed by other Ringo hits such as “Photograph,” “Oh My My,” “It Don’t Come Easy,” “No No Song,” and his cover of Johnny Burnette’s “You’re Sixteen.”
Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the chart for 19 weeks. The tune tied with “I Saw Red” as the band’s longest-charting single. Thanks to “Cherry Pie”‘s chart success and memorably risque music video, the track is arguably more important to Warrant’s discography than “Back Off Boogaloo” was to Ringo’s career.
“Back Off Boogaloo” is a classic and it paved the way for one of hair metal’s most notable tracks.
