Do Wah Diddy Diddy
Do Wah Diddy Diddy is a pop song and million seller of the British beat band Manfred Mann from 1964.
History of origin
It was a cover version of the American Exciters , who recorded their original, which remained unknown, in September 1963. The song was penned by the successful author couple Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich , was produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and arranged by Artie Butler. "Jeff and I really believed in this song," said Ellie Greenwich in an interview. The title and chorus are intended as a nonsense phrase to express sexual satisfaction.
The term was not a new word creation , because in the Jack Benny Show was Doo Wah Ditty been used as a synonym for a remote village and become from 29 February 1948 for permanent joke on the show. Benny asks the singer to show him Doo Wah Ditty on the US atlas , which he fails to do. Bo Diddley, in turn, had recorded the title Diddy Wah Diddy , composed by him together with Willie Dixon , on November 10, 1955 . Diddley's text is neither about a village nor a city: "Ain't a Town, ain't a City / But oh how they love down in Diddy wa Diddy."
When the Exciters released their fourth single Do Wah Diddy / If Love Came Your Way (United Artists 662) in November 1963 , it hardly met with approval. With a ranking of 78 (same rank in the in the US pop charts Rhythm-and-Blues - hit parade ) she cut worst of all singles from the group and became a flop . The song then appeared on an EP of the same name, which was released in December 1963.
Version by Manfred Mann
The Manfred Mann Band with singer Paul Jones recorded the song on June 11, 1964 under producer John Burgess at Abbey Road Studios ; it was published in Great Britain on July 10, 1964. The Manfred Mann version - with a "diddy" more in the title and text - was typical of the " British Invasion " in the USA at the time, because there British bands successfully produced cover versions of in the USA, but mostly unsuccessful pieces on the market. Mann's version was ranked first in the United States on October 17, 1964, and was held for 2 weeks. In her home country of Great Britain she was also a number one hit for two weeks from August 13, 1964 . The Manfred Mann single sold 650,000 in England, 750,000 in the USA and almost 3 million times worldwide. The Billboard magazine reported from the Cologne record company Electrola that the Manfred Mann version had sold over 1 million copies in Germany alone (Electrola # 22 796). Apart from the Beatles , it was very rare that a band belonging to the EMI group sold over 1 million singles in Germany alone. Despite the enormous sales, Mann's Do Wah Diddy Diddy was only able to place itself in 4th place on the German charts .
More cover versions
Because of Manfred Mann's success, the composition received a BMI award . The composers Barry / Greenwich had recorded their own composition as Raindrops in July / August 1964 , but the mix was no longer done because they heard about Manfred Mann's version. Wolfgang Frey brought with him Today I saw a girl in 1964, although a German version came out, but it went down in view of Manfred Mann's enormous success on the German market. Sheila published a French version with Vous Les Copains in September 1964 . The Rattles had the song on September 30th / 1st. Recorded in Hamburg in October 1964 under producer Hans R. Beierlein and released in November 1964 as a single with B-side Betty Jean (Star Club # 148 503) (LP Star-Club Show 1; 1965). Jan and Dean released their version in January 1965. The German disco trio À La Carte had the hit produced by Tony Hendrik and reached number 22 in the German charts in June 1980. The cover band Showaddywaddy followed (December 1980). Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and the Dolly Dots came out with their version in 1982, a parody exists by the 2 Live Crew on their LP Move Somethin ' (August 1987). Neil Diamond with Mary's Danish immortalized it on the LP Up on The Roof - Songs from the Brill Building (October 1993), Mr. Al included the song on his LP Kids Wanna Rock (July 1998). DJ Ötzi picked up the hit in June 2001. There are at least 37 versions in total.
The song was also used in several films, such as I believe a moose is smooching me! (1981) or LA Story (1991).
Individual evidence
- ^ Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , 1985, p. 158.
- ^ Hal Rammel, Nowhere in America , 1990, p. 128.
- ^ Hal Rammel, Nowhere in America , 1990, p. 141.
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 194.
- ↑ Music Capitals of the World: Cologne , Billboard Magazine, January 30, 1965, p. 19.
- ^ Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , 1985, p. 158.