Terry Reid
terry reid, “bang bang (my baby shot me down)
from: bang bang you’re terry reid, 1968
“I was five and he was six
We rode on horses made of sticks
He wore black and I wore white
He would always win the fight
Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down
Seasons came and changed the time
When I grew up, I called him mine
He would always laugh and say
”Remember when we used to play?”
Bang bang, I shot you down
Bang bang, you hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, I used to shoot you down
Music played and people sang
Just for me the church bells rang
Now he’s gone, I don’t know why
And ‘til this day, sometimes I cry
He didn’t even say goodbye
He didn’t take the time to lie
Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down
Source: LyricFind
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The first recording of Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) was a single from Cher’s second album The Sonny Side of Cher. Nancy Sinatra, Vanilla Fudge, Terry Reid and Lady Gaga recorded subsequent versions of the song. I am partial to the 1968 version featured here.
Aretha Franklin said this after seeing an 18-year-old Reid perform in 1968: “There are only three things happening in England. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Terry Reid.” Terry was asked by Jimmy Page to be the vocalist for what became Led Zeppelin, but at the time he was the opening act for the Stones and couldn’t break that deal, so he recommended Robert Plant. Later he was asked to be the singer for Deep Purple and also turned that down. What a set of pipes!
-Alan West-