Song · Book of Love
“Boy” by Book of Love
From the album Book of Love (1986)
“Boy” by Book of Love appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1988 and 1999. It was first released in 1986 on the album Book of Love. Its best result is #100 on the Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,524 alternative song of all time.
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"Boy" was Book of Love's first single, out in 1985 and later folded into the band's self-titled 1986 debut album, and it's the song that got them signed: the demo went to DJ and producer Ivan Ivan, who handed it to Seymour Stein at Sire. Ivan Ivan went on to produce it, with Steve Peck engineering.
Ted Ottaviano wrote it around a bright chimes melody, and it's about a woman's frustration at falling for a boy who is only interested in other boys. Ottaviano told the Village Voice in 2016 that it was written about Boy Bar, an exclusive gay club in the East Village. It won its rate-a-record spot on American Bandstand in May 1985 with a score of 84, and while it never reached the Hot 100, it climbed to No. 7 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 100 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1992 | 298 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1999 | 710 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
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