Richard Finch said that the song was written about a DJ at a Miami, Florida radio station named Robert W. Walker, who was the first to give their hit single "Get Down Tonight" airplay.[2]
Chart performance
In 1977 the song reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the soul charts. Billboard ranked it as the #11 song of 1977. The song was also an international chart hit, reaching number one in Canada and charting in Australia (No. 38), Belgium (No. 16), the Netherlands (No. 6), New Zealand (No. 12) and the United Kingdom (No. 41).
American band White Zombie originally recorded a cover of "I'm Your Boogie Man" for The Crow: City of Angels Soundtrack. However, since the song's release date, it has also appeared on Rob Zombie'sgreatest hits albumPast, Present & Future and as a remixed version on the EPSupersexy Swingin' Sounds. The song is another different music style for the band as they are fusing disco with heavy metal. The audio samples in the song where children are heard saying "He's gonna get you! The Boogieman is coming!" are taken from the 1978 film Halloween, which would later be remade in 2007 by Rob Zombie. The remixed version was also heard on a Halloween episode of the ABC television series 666 Park Avenue.
Reception
Although the song failed to chart, it earned White Zombie their third and final Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1997.