The studio core comprises Spike Slawson on vocals, bassist Fat Mike, Joey Cape on guitar and backing vocals, Dave Raun on drums, and Chris Shiflett on guitar (his brother Scott of Face To Face/Viva Death fills in for Chris on tour). Touring members have included Brian Baker (Bad Religion/Minor Threat), Barry DaLive (Crosstops/RKL), Eric Melvin (NOFX), Matthew MacNasty (bagpipes player from the Real McKenzies), and Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals).
Originally a themed 7" singles project, now each of their full length albums covers a different genre of music spanning the 50's to the 90's. Their first release in 1997 was entitled Have a Ball, followed by Are a Drag in 1999. In 2001 they released Blow in the Wind and two years later released Take a Break. Almost immediately after the release of Take a Break the released a live album Ruin Johnny's Bar Mitzvah The genres they've butchered now include country, on Love Their Country featuring covers of songs made popular by The Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash and others. Their most recent release is a collection of B-sides from their album Have a Ball, simply titled Have Another Ball.
The Gimme Gimmes perform to entertain themselves as much as for the entertainment of their fans. Their albums and concerts are some of the most lighthearted and off the wall musical experiences in the punk world. Concerts are often interrupted between songs to freshen cocktails at the on stage tiki bar. CD liner notes relate the hardships of recording such as Fat Mike getting so caught up in "Wild World" that he believed he was Fat Stevens, a guitar-toting Islamic Extremist, so that when Spike sang "All My Lovin" he mistook it for "Allah my Lovin" and condemned Spike to death for heresy.
The Gimmes are also known for their costumes. Each album has a 'theme' for which they all dress up for the cover art and live shows. Some themes include red suits, metallic suits with fezzes, cheerleader outfits, drag (each Gimme dressed as a character from a musical they took songs from on the cover of Are a Drag: Chris Shiflett was Columbia and Spike was Dr Frank N. Furter from Rocky Horror, Joey Cape was Annie, Fat Mike was Sandy from Grease and Dave Raun was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz). During a Warped Tour they dressed as AFI, to the confusion of many fans. Most recently they have been dressing as cowboys, but are possibly best known for their lurid Hawaiian shirts.
Or their live album, "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah", the band performed for a crowd of 30 at a Bar Mitzvah. The CD contained video of the actual event and the liner notes were written by attendee Benjamin Rosenblatt who describes the events: "They made a lot of mistakes. They even started a song then stopped, then started again." -track 7 "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the CD.
Who Put The Bomp
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who wrote the song
That made my baby
Fall in love with me
Who put the bomp
In the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
Who put the ram
Who put the bop
In the bop shoo bop shoo bop?
Who put the dip
In the dip da dip da dip?
Who was that man?
I'd like to shake his hand
He made my baby
Fall in love with me (yeah)
When my baby heard
"Bomp bah bah bomp"
"Bah bomp bah bomp bah bomp bomp"
Every word went right into her heart
And when she heard them singin'
"Rama lama lama lama"
"Rama ding dong"
She said we'd never have to part
So
Who put the bomp
In the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
Who put the ram
In the rama lama ding dong?
Who put the bop
In the bop shoo bop shoo bop?
Who put the dip
In the dip da dip da dip?
Who was that man?
I'd like to shake his hand
He made my baby
Fall in love with me (yeah)
Each time that we're alone
Boogity boogity boogity
Boogity boogity boogity shoo
Sets my baby's heart all aglow
And every time we dance to
Dip da dip da dip
Dip da dip da dip
She always says she loves me so
So
Who put the bomp
In the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
Who put the ram
In the rama lama ding dong?
Who put the bop
In the bop shoo bop shoo bop?
Who put the dip
In the dip da dip da dip?
Who was that man?
I'd like to shake his hand
He made my baby
Fall in love with me (yeah)
The song "Who Put The Bomp" by Barry Mann was originally released in 1961, and it quickly became a hit on the charts. The opening verse of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes's version pays tribute to Mann as the writer of the song that made his baby fall in love with him. The remainder of the song consists of the iconic chorus that poses the question, "Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?" and other nonsensical yet catchy lyrics that make a perfect dance tune.
The lyrics of "Who Put The Bomp" are both playful and nonsensical, but the song's meaning lies in the idea that a certain magical quality was introduced to music that caused it to affect people differently. The singer isn't sure who put the "bomp" in the song or who made the music so enchanting, but he knows that it made his baby fall in love with him. The song has a timeless quality to it as it captures the innocence and fun of early rock and roll music.
The chorus line of "Who Put The Bomp" has gone on to become one of the most famous phrases in popular music. The song's catchy melody and lyrics have been covered by numerous artists, including The Beach Boys, The Muppets, and The Smurfs. The song's enduring popularity is a testament to its universal appeal and the fact that people of all ages can enjoy listening and dancing to it.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd like to thank the guy
I am grateful to the songwriter
Who wrote the song
The songwriter who wrote a specific song
That made my baby
That caused my significant other
Fall in love with me
To fall in love with me
Who put the bomp
Who created the signature sound
In the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
That is heard in the melody?
Who put the ram
Who infused the catchphrase
In the rama lama ding dong?
Into the song lyrics?
Who put the bop
Who produced the rhythmic vocalization
In the bop shoo bop shoo bop?
That is repeated in the song?
Who put the dip
Who added the sound effect
In the dip da dip da dip?
To the song sequence?
Who was that man?
I am curious to know who that person is
I'd like to shake his hand
I want to express my appreciation to the person
He made my baby
The person was responsible for making my significant other
Fall in love with me (yeah)
To eventually fall in love with me
When my baby heard
When my significant other listened to the song
"Bomp bah bah bomp"
And heard the signature sound
"Bah bomp bah bomp bah bomp bomp"
That was repeated in the melody
Every word went right into her heart
The song had an emotional impact on my significant other
And when she heard them singin'
And when she listened to the song being performed
"Rama lama lama lama"
And heard the catchy phrase
"Rama ding dong"
Being vocalized in the lyrics
She said we'd never have to part
She felt confident about our relationship's future
Each time that we're alone
Every time we are together
Boogity boogity boogity
With the sound effect
Boogity boogity boogity shoo
Being included in the song
Sets my baby's heart all aglow
My significant other feels emotionally fulfilled
And every time we dance to
When we dance to the song
Dip da dip da dip
And we hear the sound effect
Dip da dip da dip
Being repeated in the song
She always says she loves me so
My significant other expresses her love for me
He made my baby
The person was responsible for making my significant other
Fall in love with me (yeah)
To eventually fall in love with me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Barry Mann, Gerry Goffin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind