Angry Johnny
"Angry Johnny" is the debut single by Poe, released in 1996 from her debut album Hello. The song received heavy radio airplay, and an accompanying music video was shown frequently on MTV.
| "Angry Johnny" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Poe | ||||
| from the album Hello | ||||
| Released | 1996[1][2][3] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:18 | |||
| Label | Modern | |||
| Songwriters | Poe, Ralph James Rice, Felix Cavaliere | |||
| Producer | RJ Rice | |||
| Poe singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Angry Johnny" is the debut single by Poe, released in 1996 from her debut album Hello. The song received heavy radio airplay, and an accompanying music video was shown frequently on MTV.
Background
[edit]Despite its success and positive critical reviews, "Angry Johnny" was the only commercial single released in Australia; however, a variety of promotional singles were released across the world. "Angry Johnny" was also included on the 1996 album Big Shiny Tunes.
Composition
[edit]"Angry Johnny" has a slow rhythm and, like much of Hello, incorporates layered vocal tracks.[4] The single was produced by Matt Sorum.
A "Full Band Version" of the song was also released, which was more acoustic than the album version and heavily featured cello.
Critical reception
[edit]Billboard praised the single, particularly the "fun and clever sexual euphemisms" of the lyrics.[5]
Chart performance
[edit]"Angry Johnny" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[6]
In popular culture
[edit]A two-second clip of "Angry Johnny" was included in the endpapers of the US hardcover version of Mark Z. Danielewski's novel House of Leaves, in the form of hexadecimal numbers that, when compiled in a hex editor, could be turned into an AIFF audio file.[7]
Australian CD single track listing
[edit]| Track | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Angry Johnny | 04:16 |
| 02 | Dolphin | 03:55 |
| 03 | Angry Johnny (Band Version) |
Personnel
[edit]- Lyrics: Poe. Production: RJ Rice.
- Lyrics: Poe. Production: RJ Rice & Poe (co-producer).
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1995–1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[8] | 7 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Radio & Records" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. August 16, 1996. Retrieved 25 February 2026 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Radio & Records" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. October 11, 1996. Retrieved 25 February 2026 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "UK Singles Chart entry for "Angry Johnny" by Poe". uk-charts.com (archived). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ Lankford, Ronald D. (2000). Women Singer-Songwriters in Rock: A Populist Rebellion in the 1990s. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810872692. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ Flick, Larry (23 March 1996). "Singles". Billboard.
- ^ St. Clair, Justin (15 June 2022). Soundtracked Books from the Acoustic Era to the Digital Age: A Century of Books That Sing. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Marc C. (29 January 2013). Rewiring the Real: In Conversation with William Gaddis, Richard Powers, Mark Danielewski, and Don DeLillo. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231531641. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ "Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. October 5, 1996. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
