Peak
81
Weeks
13
Score
495
Chart Year
1977
Scores & Rankings
Chart Performance
Peak Position81
Peak DateSep 17, 1977
Weeks at Peak2
Weeks Charted13
Weeks in Top 400
Weeks in Top 100
Weeks at #20
Weeks at #10
Scoring
Summary Calc20
Weekly Calc475
Total Score495
Rankings
Year Ranking#273
Decade Ranking#3,088
Billboard Year#280
Top 5000#18,745
Details
- Album
- Rocket To Russia
- Label
- Sire Records
- Genre
- Power Pop
- Composer(s)
- Doug Colvin;John Cummings;Tom Erdelyi;Jeff Hyman
- Entered Chart
- Jul 2, 1977
- Peak Date
- Sep 17, 1977
- Released
- May 1977[
- Recorded
- April 1977
- Catalog #
- Sire 746
- B-Side
- I Don't Care
Music Video
///
Notes
This was the first punk song to hit the pop charts. The name "Sheena" came from Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, who was kind of a female Tarzan character. It was a popular comic book and TV series in the '40s and '50s. Joey Ramone: "'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker' first came out as a single. I played it for (Sire Records President) Seymour Stein. He flipped out and said 'We gotta record that song now.' It was like back in the '50s; you'd rush into the studio because you thought you had a hit, then put it right out. To me 'Sheena' was the first surf/punk rock/teenage rebellion song. I combined Sheena, Queen of the Jungle with the primalness of punk rock. Then Sheena is brought into the modern day: 'But she just couldn't stay/she had to break away/well New York City really has it all.' It was funny because all the girls in New York seemed to change their name to Sheena after that. Everybody was a Sheena." >> This runs 2:45, which is fairly long for a Ramones song. Tommy Ramone helped produce this track. He his credited on the album under his real name, Tommy Erdelyi. While this was the first punk rock song to hit the Hot 100, it was not the first song on the chart with the word "Punk" in the title: Barry Mann made #78 in 1976 with "The Princess And The Punk," a song that about mismatched lovers that was certainly not a punk rocker. The Polish band Armia (translation: The Army) covered this, with most of the lyrics translated to Polish. It appears on two of their albums: Antiarmia and the concert album Soul Side Story. >>
Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go They're ready to go now they got their surfboards And they're going to the discotheque Au Go Go But she just couldn't stay she had to break away Well New York City really has is all oh yeah, oh yeah Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Well she's a punk punk, a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Well the kids are all hopped up and ready to go They're ready to go now they got their surfboards And they're going to the discotheque Au Go Go But she just couldn't stay she had to break away Well New York City really has is all oh yeah, oh yeah Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Well she's a punk punk, a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Punk punk a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker Sheena is a punk rocker now
Chart History (13 weeks)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 2, 1977 | 99 | 27 |
| 2 | Jul 9, 1977 | 95 | 31 |
| 3 | Jul 16, 1977 | 92 | 34 |
| 4 | Jul 23, 1977 | 87 | 39 |
| 5 | Jul 30, 1977 | 96 | 30 |
| 6 | Aug 6, 1977 | 94 | 32 |
| 7 | Aug 13, 1977 | 91 | 35 |
| 8 | Aug 20, 1977 | 91 | 35 |
| 9 | Aug 27, 1977 | 87 | 39 |
| 10 | Sep 3, 1977 | 86 | 40 |
| 11 | Sep 10, 1977 | 83 | 43 |
| 12 | Sep 17, 1977 | 81 | 45 |
| 13 | Sep 24, 1977 | 81 | 45 |