Synopsis
BulletBoys turn the O'Jays' soul classic into a flashy late-1980s hard-rock performance piece. The band tears through the song with Marq Torien's animated vocals, Mick Sweda's guitar work, Lonnie Vencent's low-slung bass, and Jimmy D'Anda's pounding drums. The clip leans into glam-metal excess rather than a traditional storyline, filling the screen with big hair, energetic posing, twirling microphones, dramatic close-ups, and a deliberately outrageous wardrobe choice or two. Its visual approach matches the band's swaggering, groove-heavy take on the song.
Factoids & Trivia
- The BulletBoys version appears on the band's self-titled debut album, released in 1988, although the single and video circulated into 1989.
- Guitarist Mick Sweda first recorded a demo of the song around 1986 after buying the O'Jays single. He had intended Marq Torien to sing it, but the recording sat unused until producer Ted Templeman heard it during the debut album sessions and immediately pushed the band to record it.
- Sweda chose the song because he believed Torien's R&B-influenced voice was especially well suited to the material. The finished version combines the original's soul foundation with the band's bluesy hard-rock attack.
- The single reached No. 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The video also received MTV exposure alongside "Smooth Up in Ya."
- The recording is a cover of the O'Jays' 1973 song, written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and bassist Anthony Jackson.
- The BulletBoys cover later appeared briefly in the 2003 television movie "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company.'"
- The clip is sometimes confused with the band's "Smooth Up in Ya" video because both are performance-heavy showcases built around the group's exaggerated late-1980s glam-metal presentation.