Burning The Ground Exclusive
NEW 2025 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!
Original post date May 12, 2015
🌴 Back to the beat with the queen of Latin pop and her unstoppable crew! Miami Sound Machine’s infectious 1985 single “Bad Boy” was the follow-up to their breakout smash “Conga,” and it proved that Gloria Estefan & Co. were no one-hit wonder. With its tight production, punchy horns, and dancefloor attitude, “Bad Boy” cemented the group’s crossover success and became one of the defining tracks of the Latin freestyle and dance-pop explosion of the mid-’80s.
Released as the second single from their breakthrough album Primitive Love, “Bad Boy” was produced by Emilio Estefan Jr., Gloria’s husband and the group’s guiding force. The single hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to #3 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Across the Atlantic, it also made waves, reaching #16 in the UK, giving the band their first major British chart success.
🎬 A bit of trivia: The music video for “Bad Boy” featured Gloria Estefan surrounded by—you guessed it—guys in full-on Grease-style 1950s gang outfits… and dancing streetwise cats straight out of Broadway’s Cats. Only in the ’80s!
📀 Today’s 12″ takes the track to the club, giving DJs a chance to let that groove ride. The Shep Pettibone mix showcases the signature Latin percussion and synth work that made Miami Sound Machine stand out from their pop contemporaries. It’s slick, bold, and filled with energy that screams mid-’80s dancefloor magic.
SIDE A:
Bad Boy (Remix) 6:10
SIDE B:
Bad Boy (Dub Version) 6:45
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mibt
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985/86 | Bad Boy | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #8 |
| 1985/86 | Bad Boy | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | #8 |
| 1985/86 | Bad Boy | U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | #74 |
| 1985/86 | Bad Boy | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #10 |
| 1985/86 | Bad Boy | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales | #3 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic – 49-05338
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Latin, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Engineer – Michael Hutchinson
- Producer – Emilio Estefan, Jr.
- Remix – Shep Pettibone
- Written-By – J. Galdo*, L. Dermer*, R. Vigil*
NOTES:
Special Version from the Epic LP “Primitive Love” 40131.
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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Back when the charts were much more fun. Why have the charts become so serious? Thank you so much for this Paul. They always seem to put the Eric Schilling mix on all her compilations, so it’s great to finally have this version, which is the one I remember from 1986. Off to enjoy so thanks again!
Thanks for the post, Paul! I’ve always loved this song and was surprised back in the day that it didn’t get as much airplay (in CT) as I thought it deserved. My only complaint of any of Shep’s mixes he’s ever done is this Dub…3:46-4:12 he destroyed the feel of the mix with the lame “bad, bad, bad” cuts. It feels and sounds like a boring remix service at that point. I’ve always hated this part since the day I bought the 12″. Anyway, it’s a great song and still very catchy if you ask me! Thanks again!
You’re welcome, Fred. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts and memories—I always enjoy hearing how these mixes hit (or missed) for different people!
Anything Miami Sound Machine is magical.
Thanks for posting.
You’re welcome, Jon 🙂
My favorite Miami Sound Machine single!! I have your previous rip and I so appreciate you bringing this back. Looking forward to rediscovering Shep’s mixes! I love the fact there were two videos – Gloria Estefan looks stunning of course! And the intro to Three Men And A Baby with this tune blaring out… Such a fun groove with great lyrics and so representative of that anything-goes era. Big thank you Paul!!
IYou’re welcome, Retro Hound. had forgotten the song opened that film, now I am going to have to re-watch it 🙂
I am really happy you decided to re-rip this one, Paul!! I love the Miami Sound Machine. The dub version here is one of my faves! I like it better than the A-side. Shep uses a lot of the vocals in the dub and it really slams. This is how to do a dub version right!!
Jeff
You’re welcome. I love the “Dub Version” also, Jeff 🙂
looking at the info and comments on Discogs, it appears the Pablo Flores 12″ and dub are even more elusive, as most copies of the PF 12″ were mispressed with the shep’s remixes insted… be interesting to hear those Pablo Flores countermixes
It is confusing, I think the Pablo Flores mixes appear on the European versions of the 12″.
I bought a copy of this European 12″ but it play Shep’s.. 🙁 mispress.
Very confusing, indeed! After reading through https://www.discogs.com/master/59070-Miami-Sound-Machine-Bad-Boy-Remix and the comments, it appears this 12″ has the Pablo mixes: https://www.discogs.com/release/9952325-Miami-Sound-Machine-Bad-Boy-Special-Dance-Mix It would be great if we could these ultra rare mixes someday, Paul. I found them on Youtube and the Dub is quite nice!
The Pablo Flores mix is included in the Japanese reissue of the CD “Primitive Love,” along with the Shep Dub, which is sourced from vinyl.
I have a 14-track European edition of “PL”. There don’t seem to be any credits for the bonus mixes, but Discogs says it’s the Pablo mix of ‘Bad Boy’.
There was supposed to be a deluxe reissue of “PL” a few years ago, but sadly got canned. If the tracklist on Wikipedia is correct, it sounded AMAZING.
I’m going to be completely honest here, I don’t like this song. I was never a fan of Miami Sound Machine. I guess we can’t all agree in everything!
BUT I’m super curious as to what Shep did with his mix, so thanks again! 🙂🤓
I hope you enjoy it 🙂