Boogie Oogie Oogie – A Taste Of Honey | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 3 weeks) & R&B (#1); 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
For the early years of the 1970’s, A Taste Of Honey honed their stage act through tours of military bases all over Europe and the Far East. Along the way a second woman, Hazel Payne, joined original member Janice Marie Johnson as the second female guitarist/vocalist in the band.
And it was at a gig at an Air Force club where the two women encountered overt contempt directed at them from the male audience. In response, Hazel adlibbed a “too cool to boogie” chant.
While listening to a tape of the show, Janice caught wind of a song, and – still seething from the audience reaction – penned Boogie Oogie Oggie’s put-down lyrics.
Janice and Hazel had their sweet revenge when Boogie sailed into the upper regions of the Pop and R&B charts, and became a platinum seller. At Grammy time, A Taste Of Honey grabbed the Best New Artist award for 1978.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Fonce Mizell
- Larry Mizell
Lyrics Written by:
- Janice-Marie Johnson
- Perry Kibble
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).