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My first CD. The Weird Al version, of course. 2nd CD ever...Dave's Song of the Day
Amish Paradise – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Wednesday song of the day: Miscommunications over today’s song parody led to a minor conflict.
Day 3 of Weird Al week:
On his 1996 album Bad Hair Day, “Weird Al” Yankovic included the song Amish Paradise, which parodied Coolio’s 1995 hit Gangsta’s Paradise. Whereas Coolio’s song dealt with the harsh realities of life in an urban gang, the Weird Al parody changed the setting to a quiet Amish community.
As mentioned yesterday, Yankovic firmly believes in obtaining permission from the artists responsible for the original work before he releases a parody version of a song. In the case of Amish Paradise, he thought that he had in fact gotten consent from Coolio. The communication, however, ended up being conducted by middle men, and what actually happened was Coolio’s record company gave permission for the parody, but never asked Coolio himself. Thus, when Amish Paradise was released, Coolio was surprised and a little upset. In an interview at the time, he said, “I didn’t give it any sanction. I think that my song was too serious. It ain’t like it was Beat It. Beat It was a party song. But I think Gangsta’s Paradise represented something more than that. And I really, honestly and truly, don’t appreciate him desecrating the song like that. I think he’s wrong for that, because his record company asked for my permission, and I said no. But they did it anyway. I couldn’t stop him. But you know, more power to him. I hope they sell a lot of records. Just stay away from me.”
This prompted Yankovic to write a letter apologizing for the misunderstanding. Eventually the two met a few years later and any ill will was left behind. In 2014 Coolio mentioned in an interview that he regretted making an issue of it, and in hindsight he now appreciates the humor in Amish Paradise.
Commercially, Amish Paradise did well, reaching #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the video receiving heavy airplay. While it was far from being one of Yankovic’s biggest hits like Eat It or White and Nerdy, it was a solid performance for a novelty song, one of many that has helped keep Weird Al in the public consciousness for decades.
Audio
View: https://youtu.be/aKbe-SUIOzs
Video
View: https://youtu.be/lOfZLb33uCg
Gangta’s Paradise, Coolio
View: https://youtu.be/fPO76Jlnz6c
Tomorrow: They locked the doors and tried to kill us
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ
Dave's Song of the Day
The Saga Begins – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Thursday song of the day: Unlike most of his parodies, today’s Weird Al song uses a much older song as a vehicle to comment on a more current piece of pop culture.
Day 4 of Weird Al Week:
Most of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody songs use fairly current hits, but for the 1999 album Running with Scissors he went back to Don McLean’s huge 1971 hit American Pie to create The Saga Begins. The subject of the song was the new Star Wars movie that came out in 1999, The Phantom Menace. Yankovic used a similar old song/newer movie combination before for one of his early songs, 1980’s Yoda, which paired the Kink’s song Lola with the character Yoda from the then-current Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back.
Yankovic recorded the song on April 20th, 1999 despite The Phantom Menace not being released until May 16th, 1999. Since he had not seen the film, Al based the lyrics of the song on researching internet sources for spoilers. Between writing and recording the song, he was able to attend a charity pre-screening of the film, but noted that the spoilers were accurate enough that he only needed to make a few minor changes to The Saga Begins to remain faithful to the plot.
The song was released on June 24th, 1999 while The Phantom Menace was still running in theaters, so the advance work paid off. The Saga Begins was released as a digital download as well as a CD, so it did not make the Hot 100 chart, but did make #20 on the Billboard Comedy Digital Tracks chart.
Audio
View: https://youtu.be/ncBVU02buZM
Video
View: https://youtu.be/hEcjgJSqSRU
American Pie, Don McLean, 1971
View: https://youtu.be/iX_TFkut1PM
Tomorrow: I wanna bowl with the gangstas
The Saga Begins – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Thursday song of the day: Unlike most of his parodies, today’s Weird Al song uses a much older song as a vehicle to comment on a more current piece of pop culture.
Day 4 of Weird Al Week:
Most of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody songs use fairly current hits, but for the 1999 album Running with Scissors he went back to Don McLean’s huge 1971 hit American Pie to create The Saga Begins. The subject of the song was the new Star Wars movie that came out in 1999, The Phantom Menace. Yankovic used a similar old song/newer movie combination before for one of his early songs, 1980’s Yoda, which paired the Kink’s song Lola with the character Yoda from the then-current Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back.
Yankovic recorded the song on April 20th, 1999 despite The Phantom Menace not being released until May 16th, 1999. Since he had not seen the film, Al based the lyrics of the song on researching internet sources for spoilers. Between writing and recording the song, he was able to attend a charity pre-screening of the film, but noted that the spoilers were accurate enough that he only needed to make a few minor changes to The Saga Begins to remain faithful to the plot.
The song was released on June 24th, 1999 while The Phantom Menace was still running in theaters, so the advance work paid off. The Saga Begins was released as a digital download as well as a CD, so it did not make the Hot 100 chart, but did make #20 on the Billboard Comedy Digital Tracks chart.
Audio
View: https://youtu.be/ncBVU02buZM
Video
View: https://youtu.be/hEcjgJSqSRU
American Pie, Don McLean, 1971
View: https://youtu.be/iX_TFkut1PM
Tomorrow: I wanna bowl with the gangstas
People, Places and Things - Chubb Rock
imagine being 13 yo Derek Trucks and opening for Allman Bros.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQTbmUYI4A
i've been on a slide guitar kick since the Jeff Healy post by
@ThatOneDude.
didn't know how much I enjoyed Sonny Landreth.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdnCvhEhIdc&app=desktop
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut44Zrm2cwU
i've probably heard dozens of version of Walkin Blues, but Sonny is so smooth and slick even when playing an 'attacking' riff...
@ThatOneDude.didn't know how much I enjoyed Sonny Landreth.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdnCvhEhIdc&app=desktop
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut44Zrm2cwU
i've probably heard dozens of version of Walkin Blues, but Sonny is so smooth and slick even when playing an 'attacking' riff...
Dave's Song of the Day
White and Nerdy – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Friday song of the day: Today’s song is Weird Al’s first Top Ten hit.
Weird Al week, Day 5:
Thirty years after he began recording parody songs on cassette tapes to send to the Doctor Demento radio show, “Weird Al” Yankovic had his biggest hit to date. In 2006, he released White and Nerdy, which is based on Chamillionaire’s hit Ridin’. The Chamillionaire hit repeats the phrase “ridin’ dirty” numerous times, which the parody of course changes to “white and nerdy,” transforming a song about the police hoping to catch someone into a song about how painfully white the singer is.
In the song, Al hits all the lamest nerd stereotypes: computer programming, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek, etc. The video was also based on that used for Ridin’, with Al doing a large number of nerdy things, aided by the whitest of the white, Donny Osmond. White and Nerdy went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first time Weird Al cracked the Top 10. It was also his first Platinum selling single. In 2020, Yankovic is still going strong, although he tends to release songs as downloads these days as opposed to physical recordings.
View: https://youtu.be/N9qYF9DZPdw
Ridin’, Chamillionaire, 2006
View: https://youtu.be/CtwJvgPJ9xw
Tomorrow: I don’t even know why
White and Nerdy – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Friday song of the day: Today’s song is Weird Al’s first Top Ten hit.
Weird Al week, Day 5:
Thirty years after he began recording parody songs on cassette tapes to send to the Doctor Demento radio show, “Weird Al” Yankovic had his biggest hit to date. In 2006, he released White and Nerdy, which is based on Chamillionaire’s hit Ridin’. The Chamillionaire hit repeats the phrase “ridin’ dirty” numerous times, which the parody of course changes to “white and nerdy,” transforming a song about the police hoping to catch someone into a song about how painfully white the singer is.
In the song, Al hits all the lamest nerd stereotypes: computer programming, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek, etc. The video was also based on that used for Ridin’, with Al doing a large number of nerdy things, aided by the whitest of the white, Donny Osmond. White and Nerdy went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first time Weird Al cracked the Top 10. It was also his first Platinum selling single. In 2020, Yankovic is still going strong, although he tends to release songs as downloads these days as opposed to physical recordings.
View: https://youtu.be/N9qYF9DZPdw
Ridin’, Chamillionaire, 2006
View: https://youtu.be/CtwJvgPJ9xw
Tomorrow: I don’t even know why
My aunts and uncles always request American Pie during family camping trips, but when I play it on guitar my cousins eventually flip over to Weird Al's version of the lyrics. It's funny how pissed off the older people get.Dave's Song of the Day
The Saga Begins – “Weird Al” Yankovic
Thursday song of the day: Unlike most of his parodies, today’s Weird Al song uses a much older song as a vehicle to comment on a more current piece of pop culture.
Day 4 of Weird Al Week:
Most of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody songs use fairly current hits, but for the 1999 album Running with Scissors he went back to Don McLean’s huge 1971 hit American Pie to create The Saga Begins. The subject of the song was the new Star Wars movie that came out in 1999, The Phantom Menace. Yankovic used a similar old song/newer movie combination before for one of his early songs, 1980’s Yoda, which paired the Kink’s song Lola with the character Yoda from the then-current Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back.
Yankovic recorded the song on April 20th, 1999 despite The Phantom Menace not being released until May 16th, 1999. Since he had not seen the film, Al based the lyrics of the song on researching internet sources for spoilers. Between writing and recording the song, he was able to attend a charity pre-screening of the film, but noted that the spoilers were accurate enough that he only needed to make a few minor changes to The Saga Begins to remain faithful to the plot.
The song was released on June 24th, 1999 while The Phantom Menace was still running in theaters, so the advance work paid off. The Saga Begins was released as a digital download as well as a CD, so it did not make the Hot 100 chart, but did make #20 on the Billboard Comedy Digital Tracks chart.
Audio
View: https://youtu.be/ncBVU02buZM
Video
View: https://youtu.be/hEcjgJSqSRU
American Pie, Don McLean, 1971
View: https://youtu.be/iX_TFkut1PM
Tomorrow: I wanna bowl with the gangstas
They do the same thing when I play Lola by The Kinks (Weird Al's version: Yoda)
Derek Trucks is so underrated it's not even funny.
Not just a slide player.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZOBUcnNp04
Dave's Song of the Day
Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes
Saturday song of the day: Today’s song was re-recorded for a movie soundtrack because the master tape was destroyed.
In 1983, Violent Femmes released their self-titled debut album. It was a critical success but not originally a big seller. It eventually found its audience and sales increased over time. Four years after its release, Violent Femmes was certified as a Gold record, and in 1991 it went Platinum, selling over a million copies in eight years.
Included on the album was Blister in the Sun, which became a popular song on alternative radio, but never charted. Blister in the Sun was a rather vague song, but was essentially about drug abuse. In 1997, it was used in the film Grosse Point Blank. John Cusack wanted a rerecorded version for the film, and the band complied, doing a new arrangement with a slower beat and more lush instrumentation that they called Blister 2000. Additionally, they recorded a new version of the original arrangement, since the master tapes (recorded in August 1982) had been destroyed. Oddly, the film didn’t use either of these re-recordings, but instead used the original recording.
The 1997 version of the original arrangement was released as a video, with Violent Femmes singer Gordon Gano posing as an assassin trying to target a puppet version of “Socks”, the Clintons’ cat, interspersed with scenes from Grosse Point Blank.
1983
View: https://youtu.be/ImIESKQKKJo
Video for 1997 re-recording of 1983 arrangement
View: https://youtu.be/hYZkoI1ggEw
New “Blister 2000” arrangement, 1997
View: https://youtu.be/Nx2VTN2cnpg
Tomorrow: Ritalin is good
Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes
Saturday song of the day: Today’s song was re-recorded for a movie soundtrack because the master tape was destroyed.
In 1983, Violent Femmes released their self-titled debut album. It was a critical success but not originally a big seller. It eventually found its audience and sales increased over time. Four years after its release, Violent Femmes was certified as a Gold record, and in 1991 it went Platinum, selling over a million copies in eight years.
Included on the album was Blister in the Sun, which became a popular song on alternative radio, but never charted. Blister in the Sun was a rather vague song, but was essentially about drug abuse. In 1997, it was used in the film Grosse Point Blank. John Cusack wanted a rerecorded version for the film, and the band complied, doing a new arrangement with a slower beat and more lush instrumentation that they called Blister 2000. Additionally, they recorded a new version of the original arrangement, since the master tapes (recorded in August 1982) had been destroyed. Oddly, the film didn’t use either of these re-recordings, but instead used the original recording.
The 1997 version of the original arrangement was released as a video, with Violent Femmes singer Gordon Gano posing as an assassin trying to target a puppet version of “Socks”, the Clintons’ cat, interspersed with scenes from Grosse Point Blank.
1983
View: https://youtu.be/ImIESKQKKJo
Video for 1997 re-recording of 1983 arrangement
View: https://youtu.be/hYZkoI1ggEw
New “Blister 2000” arrangement, 1997
View: https://youtu.be/Nx2VTN2cnpg
Tomorrow: Ritalin is good
I love that song.
Dave's Song of the Day
If You Want Me to Stay – Sly and the Family Stone
Sunday song of the day: Today’s song originated in an argument the singer had with his girlfriend.
The career arc of Sly Stone makes me very sad. Sly, born Sylvester Stewart, reached the highest heights, and then pretty much fell off a cliff due to personal demons. He was responsible for some of the very best music of the late 1960s and early 1970s as the leader of Sly and the Family Stone, producing classics such as Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Family Affair, Stand!, and Everyday People. Along with his brother Freddie and sister Rose, he created the first big truly integrated band, with all races and sexes welcome.
By the early 1970s, however, Sly and The Family Stone had more and more become just Sly Stone. Sly played several instruments and wrote the songs, and when tensions within the band grew to include a physical fight with bassist Larry Graham, Sly withdrew. By the time he started work on the band’s sixth album, Fresh, it almost amounted to a solo project. Sly recorded the album without much input from The Family Stone, playing most of the instruments himself and enlisting some friends such as Billy Preston to fill in other areas. Several members of the Family Stone including Freddie and Rose Stone, trumpet player Cynthia Robinson, and saxophone player Jerry Martini were used in limited capacities. Larry Graham played on two tracks, with his parts presumably recorded before the fight that caused him to quit the Family Stone in 1972.
Fresh, released in June 1973, included what was one of the last great hits for the band, If You Want Me to Stay. It was in a much heavier funk style than most of the band’s earlier hits, and concerned the singer telling his love interest that she would have to allow him to do as he wanted, or he would leave. The song originated in a fight between Sly and his girlfriend – and future wife – Kathleen Silva. After the fight he wrote her an apology, but the apology included the thought that no matter what, Sly was going to be Sly. One can guess that his growing drug problem at the time played a part in the argument.
As mentioned yesterday, Larry Blackmon based his singing in Word Up on the exaggerated vocal style Sly used on If You Want Me to Stay and a few other late-period Family Stone tracks, where Sly almost swallowed the lyrics rather than singing them out clearly.
If You Want Me to Stay was a hit, although not on the scale of the band’s earlier #1 records Everyday People, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Family Affair, or the #2 Hot Fun in the Summertime. Still, If You Want Me to Stay performed more than respectably, reaching #3 on the R&B chart and topping out at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Personally, I feel it rivals Stand! for the best Sly and the Family Stone track.
After Fresh, the original Sly and The Family Stone recorded one more album before disbanding in 1975. After that, Sly recorded as a solo act or with a different version of The Family Stone with mostly new personnel. He had only limited success, however, as his drug problems worsened and his behavior became increasingly erratic. By the 1980s, Sly was mostly in seclusion, performing only sporadically. He is 77 years old now, but unfortunately long-term drug use cut short the brilliance of his earlier musical career.
View: https://youtu.be/gZFabOuF4Ps
Tomorrow: Hopin’ that we don’t run out
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xag5RKD0VHk
That's my Sly and the Family Stone jam. Timeless, Awesome, Just Sick!!!!
They made some great music.Dave's Song of the Day
Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes
Saturday song of the day: Today’s song was re-recorded for a movie soundtrack because the master tape was destroyed.
In 1983, Violent Femmes released their self-titled debut album. It was a critical success but not originally a big seller. It eventually found its audience and sales increased over time. Four years after its release, Violent Femmes was certified as a Gold record, and in 1991 it went Platinum, selling over a million copies in eight years.
Included on the album was Blister in the Sun, which became a popular song on alternative radio, but never charted. Blister in the Sun was a rather vague song, but was essentially about drug abuse. In 1997, it was used in the film Grosse Point Blank. John Cusack wanted a rerecorded version for the film, and the band complied, doing a new arrangement with a slower beat and more lush instrumentation that they called Blister 2000. Additionally, they recorded a new version of the original arrangement, since the master tapes (recorded in August 1982) had been destroyed. Oddly, the film didn’t use either of these re-recordings, but instead used the original recording.
The 1997 version of the original arrangement was released as a video, with Violent Femmes singer Gordon Gano posing as an assassin trying to target a puppet version of “Socks”, the Clintons’ cat, interspersed with scenes from Grosse Point Blank.
1983
View: https://youtu.be/ImIESKQKKJo
Video for 1997 re-recording of 1983 arrangement
View: https://youtu.be/hYZkoI1ggEw
New “Blister 2000” arrangement, 1997
View: https://youtu.be/Nx2VTN2cnpg
Tomorrow: Ritalin is good
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFt7JHwJeg
This is one of those songs you can just put on loop and listen to all day and have a smile on your face throughout. Wife leaves you? Dog shits on the carpet, you clean it up, dog shits on the carpet again? Nothing would bother you.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xxr3-CBams
Another song you could just put on loop and smile.
Dang I had that spice girls album. Think it was the second album I had, first was new kids on the block. I wish I could go back in time and drop kick my parents in the face for letting me listen to such shit and not making me listen to nwa or something good
Fuck I think the Marshall Mathers LP was the first rap music I got. Iirc my mum snapped it.
Dave's Song of the Day
This Is a Call – Foo Fighters
Sunday song of the day: The creator of today’s song played all the instruments himself.
In the summer of 1994 Dave Grohl was the drummer of iconic group Nirvana, but Nirvana had essentially ended with the suicide of the band’s singer, songwriter, and main creative force Kurt Cobain in April of that year. Grohl had just gotten married, and after the death of his bandmate and friend he didn’t know what he would do with the rest of his life. While working through these issues, he decided to continue his musical life with a new band. At first, the band consisted of just him. He wrote the songs, sang, and played all the instruments on the album (with the exception of a guest guitarist on one track). He called this project Foo Fighters, for an old term that World War II airmen used for unidentified flying objects.
One of the first songs he wrote after Cobain’s death was This Is a Call. The lyrics were mostly meaningless, but hints within the song pointed to it being a resolve to move on despite the loss of Cobain and the end of Nirvana. Grohl said of the line “This is a call to all my past resignations” in the chorus that he meant it as an acknowledgement of the past and a look toward a different future: “It’s just sort of like a little wave to all the people I ever played music with, people I’ve been friends with, all my relationships, my family. It’s a hello, and in a way a thank you.” He later added “I felt like I had nothing to lose, and I didn’t necessarily want to be the drummer of Nirvana for the rest of my life without Nirvana. I thought I should try something I’d never done before and I’d never stood up in front of a band and been the lead singer, which was fucking horrifying and still is!”
The Foo Fighters album was released in July 1995. Most of the album’s songs had been written while Grohl was part of Nirvana, and a few even before then. Only a couple, including This Is a Call, were written after Cobain’s death. While the Foo Fighters album was a solo project, before it was released Grohl formed an actual band for touring and for future recordings. This Is a Call was the first song released as a single from the album and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #2 on the Alternative Airplay chart.
Since the first album twenty-five years ago, Foo Fighters has developed into one of the more important bands of the past few decades. The band has released nine studio albums, had many hit records, and won twelve Grammy awards.
View: https://youtu.be/h-Rnr3wTX9I
Tomorrow: We’re so happy and that’s how we’re gonna stay
This Is a Call – Foo Fighters
Sunday song of the day: The creator of today’s song played all the instruments himself.
In the summer of 1994 Dave Grohl was the drummer of iconic group Nirvana, but Nirvana had essentially ended with the suicide of the band’s singer, songwriter, and main creative force Kurt Cobain in April of that year. Grohl had just gotten married, and after the death of his bandmate and friend he didn’t know what he would do with the rest of his life. While working through these issues, he decided to continue his musical life with a new band. At first, the band consisted of just him. He wrote the songs, sang, and played all the instruments on the album (with the exception of a guest guitarist on one track). He called this project Foo Fighters, for an old term that World War II airmen used for unidentified flying objects.
One of the first songs he wrote after Cobain’s death was This Is a Call. The lyrics were mostly meaningless, but hints within the song pointed to it being a resolve to move on despite the loss of Cobain and the end of Nirvana. Grohl said of the line “This is a call to all my past resignations” in the chorus that he meant it as an acknowledgement of the past and a look toward a different future: “It’s just sort of like a little wave to all the people I ever played music with, people I’ve been friends with, all my relationships, my family. It’s a hello, and in a way a thank you.” He later added “I felt like I had nothing to lose, and I didn’t necessarily want to be the drummer of Nirvana for the rest of my life without Nirvana. I thought I should try something I’d never done before and I’d never stood up in front of a band and been the lead singer, which was fucking horrifying and still is!”
The Foo Fighters album was released in July 1995. Most of the album’s songs had been written while Grohl was part of Nirvana, and a few even before then. Only a couple, including This Is a Call, were written after Cobain’s death. While the Foo Fighters album was a solo project, before it was released Grohl formed an actual band for touring and for future recordings. This Is a Call was the first song released as a single from the album and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #2 on the Alternative Airplay chart.
Since the first album twenty-five years ago, Foo Fighters has developed into one of the more important bands of the past few decades. The band has released nine studio albums, had many hit records, and won twelve Grammy awards.
View: https://youtu.be/h-Rnr3wTX9I
Tomorrow: We’re so happy and that’s how we’re gonna stay
Very unique look to her. Future star material.
Dave's Song of the Day
Do-Wah-Diddy – The Exciters
Monday song of the day: Today’s song was a bit of a flop for the original artists, but the cover version was a huge hit.
The legendary songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich had written a hit for girl group The Crystals with Da Do Ron Ron in early 1963. After this, they decided to try that nonsense word formula again, and wrote a song called Do-Wah-Diddy. It was recorded by The Exciters, a group of one man and three women who had recently scored a big hit with Tell Him. The Exciters recording of Do-Wah-Diddy was released in November 1963 and did not perform very well, topping out at #78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
English band Manfred Mann (named after their keyboard player and singer, Manfred Mann) decided to record the song and released their version in July 1964. The female-dominated Exciters had sung the song about a male, and since Manfred Mann was an all-male group, the love interest in the song was changed to a woman. The title was also changed, with the dashes deleted and an extra “diddy” added, resulting in Do Wah Diddy Diddy. This cover version was a hit, placing at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a classic. After the Manfred Mann hit, Do Wah Diddy Diddy has been covered over seventy times by various artists, including Jan & Dean, Rick Derringer, Neil Diamond, and even the Muppets.
Manfred Mann had quite a career with cover songs. I have featured him twice before as Song of the Day, on October 15th, 2014 covering Bob Dylan’s Mighty Quinn (Here: Mighty Quinn – Manfred Mann ) and as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band on April 11th, 2020 covering Bruce Springsteen’s Blinded By the Light (Here: Blinded by the Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band ).
Do-Wah-Diddy, The Exciters, 1963
View: https://youtu.be/2Uxb6N2rlzU
Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Manfred Mann, 1964
View: https://youtu.be/rQl7jlKfz84
Tomorrow: Being with you has opened my eyes
Do-Wah-Diddy – The Exciters
Monday song of the day: Today’s song was a bit of a flop for the original artists, but the cover version was a huge hit.
The legendary songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich had written a hit for girl group The Crystals with Da Do Ron Ron in early 1963. After this, they decided to try that nonsense word formula again, and wrote a song called Do-Wah-Diddy. It was recorded by The Exciters, a group of one man and three women who had recently scored a big hit with Tell Him. The Exciters recording of Do-Wah-Diddy was released in November 1963 and did not perform very well, topping out at #78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
English band Manfred Mann (named after their keyboard player and singer, Manfred Mann) decided to record the song and released their version in July 1964. The female-dominated Exciters had sung the song about a male, and since Manfred Mann was an all-male group, the love interest in the song was changed to a woman. The title was also changed, with the dashes deleted and an extra “diddy” added, resulting in Do Wah Diddy Diddy. This cover version was a hit, placing at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a classic. After the Manfred Mann hit, Do Wah Diddy Diddy has been covered over seventy times by various artists, including Jan & Dean, Rick Derringer, Neil Diamond, and even the Muppets.
Manfred Mann had quite a career with cover songs. I have featured him twice before as Song of the Day, on October 15th, 2014 covering Bob Dylan’s Mighty Quinn (Here: Mighty Quinn – Manfred Mann ) and as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band on April 11th, 2020 covering Bruce Springsteen’s Blinded By the Light (Here: Blinded by the Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band ).
Do-Wah-Diddy, The Exciters, 1963
View: https://youtu.be/2Uxb6N2rlzU
Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Manfred Mann, 1964
View: https://youtu.be/rQl7jlKfz84
Tomorrow: Being with you has opened my eyes