Cherry Bomb (The Runaways song)
| "Cherry Bomb" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Runaways | ||||
| from the album The Runaways | ||||
| B-side | "Blackmail" | |||
| Released | ||||
| Recorded | March 1976 | |||
| Studio | Fidelity Recorders (Studio City) | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriters | Joan Jett, Kim Fowley | |||
| Producer | Kim Fowley | |||
| The Runaways singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| Video on YouTube | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Billboard | no rating[5] |
| Cashbox | no rating[6] |
| Record World | no rating[7] |
| Record Mirror | no rating[8] |
"Cherry Bomb" is the debut single by the rock band The Runaways from their self-titled debut album, released in June 1976, through Mercury.[4] "Cherry Bomb" was ranked 52nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs[9] and peaked at number 106 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
About the song
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 of the made-for-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); this version charted on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, peaking at #55.[10] 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).
Tracklist
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cherry Bomb" | Joan Jett, Kim Fowley | Cherie Currie | 2:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Blackmail" | Jett | Jett | 2:40 |
| Total length: | 5:00 | |||
Personnel
- The Runaways
- Cherie Currie — vocals
- Lita Ford — lead guitar
- Joan Jett — rhythm guitar, vocals
- Jackie Fox — bass (not performed)
- Sandy West — drums
- Session musician
- Nigel Harrison — bass (uncredited)
Charts
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] | 57 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[12] | 106 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ a b "The Runaways - Cherry Bomb". DutchCharts.nl. September 1976. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "The Runaways - Cherry Bomb". September 17, 1976. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ "The Runaways - Cherry Bomb". October 5, 1976. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
- ^ a b "The Runaways — Cherry Bomb". 45cat. June 1976. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
- ^ "Top Single Picks: The Runaways — «Cherry Bomb»" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 28. N. Y.: Billboard Publications Inc. July 10, 1976. p. 64. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2024.
- ^ "Singles Reviews: The Runaways — «Cherry Bomb»" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. 38, no. 8. N. Y.: The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc. July 10, 1976. p. 16. ISSN 0008-7289. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2024.
- ^ "Single Picks. The Runaways — «Cherry Bomb»" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 32, no. 1516. N. Y.: Record World Publications Inc. July 10, 1976. p. 20. ISSN 0034-1622. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2024.
- ^ David Hancock (October 1, 1976). "Singles: Runaways at the Full Throttle. The Runaways — «Cherry Bomb»" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 6. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2024.
- ^ 52nd Greatest Hard Rock Song Archived 2009-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Joan Jett & the Blackhearts | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. 1993. p. 261. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1998). Bubbling Under Singles & Albums. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 311. ISBN 0-89820-128-4.
- ^ "British single certifications – Runaways – Cherry Bomb". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 3, 2023. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Cherry Bomb Runaways in the "Search:" field.