Bam Bam (Sister Nancy song)

"Bam Bam" is a 1982 song by Jamaican dancehall recording artist Sister Nancy. The song's chorus was inspired by the 1966 song of the same name, by The Maytals and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.^[1] The song's instrumental samples the 1974 song "Stalag 17", by Ansell Collins, a well known riddim, alternatively known as a backing track used repeatedly.^[2] The song has been labeled as a "well-known reggae anthem" by BBC and a "classic" by The Observer.^[3][4]

In 2016, Billboard called the song "a strong contender for the title of most sampled reggae song of all time."^[1] When asked her opinion of the many songs that have used her voice over the years, she responded: "I don’t know if I hear all of them. They sample it so much times but none of them is my favorite. The reason why I say that is they know how to contact me. They know I live in the U.S. and nobody try to contact me to do it in person. They always sample the tune. If they had contacted me and I would do it for them live then I would have a favorite."^[1]

In 2014, Sister Nancy's daughter pointed out that the song was playing on the TV in a Reebok commercial and, thus, she finally decided to seek legal advice and guidance on properly obtaining rights to her own music. For 32 years, Sister Nancy did not receive any royalties for her song. At the end of the settlement, she was unable to receive compensation for all 32 years of unpaid royalties, but did receive compensation for the last 10 years and 50% of the rights to her song “Bam Bam”.^[5]

In 2015, the song topped the iTunes Reggae Chart.^[6]