Handy Man

"Handy Man" is a rock 'n' roll song credited to singer Jimmy Jones and songwriter Otis Blackwell. It was originally recorded by The Sparks Of Rhythm, a group Jones had been a member of when he wrote "Handy Man" although he was not with them when they recorded it. In 1959, Jimmy Jones recorded the song which was reworked by Blackwell [http://www.kyleesplin.com/jllsb/JLLSBDIR/pages/68apage.htm] . Blackwell produced the session and "Handy Man" went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960, and became a million seller. The song was a hit again in 1964 recorded by Del Shannon and James Taylor in 1977. Taylor's version of the song was the most successful, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the adult contemporary chart. This version also earned Taylor his second Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

Some recordings of "Handy Man" list C. Merenstein as a co-writer as does BMI under the full name Charles Merenstein. Merenstein has other songs with BMI.

Trivia

*Boy George was later accused of plagiarizing his 1983 hit "Karma Chameleon" from "Handy Man". [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5775]

*In an episode of the American sitcom "What's Happening!!", Dwayne sings a horrible rendition of "Handy Man" in class to impress a talent scout, but winds up disgusting everyone instead.