Boney M--not that big in U.S.??

**nrgbeat** · April 5th, 2006, 05:58 AM

I've seen Boney M mentioned in a lot in different threads. I don't recall them being that big here in the U.S. The only song I remember getting airplay on the radio was "Rivers of Babylon" and it was minimal.

Were they popular in other parts of the U.S. like NYC, LA, etc?

**Disco Dave** · April 5th, 2006, 10:51 AM

Maybe a bit underground like a lot of thew tracks here. I don't think I've heard him played out a club this decade, then again that also describes the average Cerrone track as well. :cry:

**BrunoRepublic** · April 5th, 2006, 10:52 AM

"Rasputin" was a minor hit here in Toronto, but Boney M's success in North America never reached the same heights as in Europe.

**DiscoMan** · April 5th, 2006, 07:12 PM

I only remember "The Rivers of Babylon" on the radio. I like "Daddy Cool" but I don't remember it getting any radio airplay.

**paul** · April 6th, 2006, 12:24 AM

I agree with everyone here. In fact the most I heard them was on the radio as opposed to the discos.
The only reason I really remember them is because my sister had a couple of their albums. The reason why she had 'em was she lived in Germany for a few years in the mid '70s.

**SandraDee** · April 8th, 2006, 02:14 PM

There's a Boney M musical on the way. :o I wonder if it'll reach the commercial success of 'Mamma Mia', the Abba musical? :-?

**mrbmarco** · April 8th, 2006, 03:26 PM

I remember a 12" promo of Daddy Cool on Atlantic. I played it at the club and it did so so.

**discokicks** · April 8th, 2006, 06:29 PM

The song Rasputin was huge in this neck of the woods way back then. I remember it stayed at #1 for about four weeks on our local radio station's pop chart back in early '79 so I just assumed that it was huge everywhere....can't believe it didn't even chart on Billboard's top 100.

Rasputin was the quintessential ('QUIN'essential.... :lol: ) song to play at every damn wedding that I played in the 80's....ohhhhh, those Russians......

**QUINNY** · April 9th, 2006, 05:44 PM

Guys, count yourselves lucky that Boney M didn't do that much business in the states. My late father used to play them at his tea dances he did for old age pensioners.

**InvisibleMan** · August 20th, 2011, 10:01 AM

Russians still go crazy for Rasputin and for Boney M in general.... huge at Retro disco shows, with other Eurodisco stars

check it out, 2010 Moscow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt79ODn1gtQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da03u9iq4Cg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khgdv755i1k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoH7XQ_bbdw

**srg** · August 20th, 2011, 06:26 PM

Maybe it was an ethnic/european thing(like greeks, italian, portuguese, etc), but my WHOLE family here in southern Ontario had Boney M's "Nighflight to Venus" LP....along with Bimbo Jet and Donna's "I Remember Yesterday" LPs...aaah, GREAT weddings! lol!

**tyree_kevin** · September 2nd, 2011, 02:54 PM

Interesting post. It reminds me of a conversation that Jussi and I had. I can remember Boney M on "Soul Train" about 1980 or so. Give Don Cornelius credit he tried to expose Boney to a wider audience but it didn`t work. It was another scheme by Frank Farian to hit it big in the US especially on black radio. They were humorous to us. It reminds me of Jamiroquai attemps to make it in America.

**Chap2Power** · September 3rd, 2011, 05:02 PM

Per Capita, Boney M was once the largest selling international act in Canadian history. They were only surpassed in later times by 2 Unlimited.

Boney M was never much of anything in the US, but in Canada, they had repeated gold singles and albums and their Christmas album is very close to Diamond, which is a million units (equate that to 10 million in the US) and is a holiday classic.

**BrunoRepublic** · September 3rd, 2011, 07:53 PM

Originally Written by Chap2Power

Per Capita, Boney M was once the largest selling international act in Canadian history. They were only surpassed in later times by 2 Unlimited.

For real? Both of those really surprise me... or does "international" exclude UK and US?

**PierreConstantin** · September 4th, 2011, 08:28 AM

In Mexico "Rivers of Babylon" was a big radio hit and "Rasputin" an even bigger radio hit; some songs of the album got radio airplay (mostly the B-sides of the singles).*Some coloured vinyls (7" and 12") were released.*

The other songs and the other albums, before and after, went completely unnoticed (even "Daddy cool" and "Ma Baker"). Nevertheless the albums were released in Mexico : I have a Mexican pressing of the "Love for sale" lp with a cover picture different from the European one and a back picture in black and white I've never seen anywhere else. But it's without the poster inside (my Belgian Hansa pressing has it).