# Angry Johnny

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"**Angry Johnny**" is the debut single by [Poe](/source/Poe_(singer)), released in 1996 from her debut album *[Hello](/source/Hello_(Poe_album))*. The song received heavy radio airplay, and an accompanying music video was shown frequently on [MTV](/source/MTV).

## Background

Despite its success and positive critical reviews, "Angry Johnny" was the only commercial single released in [Australia](/source/Australia); however, a variety of promotional singles were released across the world. "Angry Johnny" was also included on the 1996 album *[Big Shiny Tunes](/source/Big_Shiny_Tunes)*.

## Composition

"Angry Johnny" has a slow rhythm and, like much of *Hello*, incorporates [layered vocal tracks](/source/Overdubbing).[4] The single was produced by [Matt Sorum](/source/Matt_Sorum).

A "Full Band Version" of the song was also released, which was more acoustic than the album version and heavily featured [cello](/source/Cello).

## Critical reception

*[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* praised the single, particularly the "fun and clever sexual euphemisms" of the lyrics.[5]

## Chart performance

"Angry Johnny" peaked at #7 on the [Billboard Modern Rock Tracks](/source/Alternative_Airplay) chart.[6]

## In popular culture

A two-second clip of "Angry Johnny" was included in the endpapers of the US hardcover version of [Mark Z. Danielewski](/source/Mark_Z._Danielewski)'s novel *[House of Leaves](/source/House_of_Leaves)*, in the form of [hexadecimal](/source/Hexadecimal) numbers that, when compiled in a [hex editor](/source/Hex_editor), could be turned into an [AIFF](/source/Audio_Interchange_File_Format) audio file.[7]

## Australian CD single track listing

**Length:** 12 [min](/source/Minute) 51 [sec](/source/Second)

Track Title Length 01 Angry Johnny 04:16 02 Dolphin 03:55 03 Angry Johnny (Band Version)

### Personnel

1. **Lyrics:** Poe. **Production:** RJ Rice.
1. **Lyrics:** Poe. **Production:** RJ Rice & Poe (co-producer).

## Charts

Chart (1995–1996) Peak position US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[8] 7

## References

1. ["Radio & Records"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-08-16.pdf) (PDF). *Radio & Records*. Radio & Records. August 16, 1996. Retrieved 25 February 2026. – via World Radio History.

1. ["Radio & Records"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-10-11.pdf) (PDF). *Radio & Records*. Radio & Records. October 11, 1996. Retrieved 25 February 2026. – via World Radio History.

1. ["UK Singles Chart entry for "Angry Johnny" by Poe"](https://web.archive.org/web/20250820083216/http://www.uk-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Poe&titel=Angry+Johnny&cat=s). *uk-charts.com (archived)*. Retrieved 25 February 2026.

1. Lankford, Ronald D. (2000). [*Women Singer-Songwriters in Rock: A Populist Rebellion in the 1990s*](https://books.google.com/books?id=9tfTBa5ZQoAC). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810872692. Retrieved 26 September 2022.

1. Flick, Larry (23 March 1996). "Singles". Billboard.

1. St. Clair, Justin (15 June 2022). [*Soundtracked Books from the Acoustic Era to the Digital Age: A Century of Books That Sing*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Zx1tEAAAQBAJ). Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 26 September 2022.

1. Taylor, Marc C. (29 January 2013). [*Rewiring the Real: In Conversation with William Gaddis, Richard Powers, Mark Danielewski, and Don DeLillo*](https://books.google.com/books?id=oQ6LSbB3p28C). Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231531641. Retrieved 26 September 2022.

1. ["Modern Rock Tracks"](https://books.google.com/books?id=0QkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA99&dq=Angry+Johnny+Poe&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE38Ojt66LAxV26skDHRuOB_AQ6AF6BAgNEAM#v=onepage&q=Angry%20Johnny%20Poe&f=). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. October 5, 1996. Retrieved February 5, 2025.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Angry Johnny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angry_Johnny) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angry_Johnny?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.