- Mannish Boy
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"Mannish Boy" 
Single by Muddy Waters B-side "Young Fashioned Ways" Released June 1955[1] Format 7" 45 RPM, 10" 78 RPM Recorded May 24, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois[1] Genre Chicago blues Length 2:55 Label Chess Writer(s) McKinley Morganfield, Mel London, Ellas McDaniel Producer Leonard Chess, Phil Chess Muddy Waters singles chronology "I'm Ready"
(1954)"Mannish Boy"
(1955)"Trouble No More"/ "Sugar Sweet"
(1955)"Mannish Boy" is a blues standard first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955. It is an arrangement of (and an "answer song" to) Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" (which in turn was inspired by Waters' and Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man").[2] "Mannish Boy" features a repeating stop-time figure on one chord throughout the song and is credited to Waters, Mel London, and Bo Diddley.
Contents
Muddy Waters versions
The original version of "Mannish Boy" was recorded in Chicago on May 24, 1955, under the title "Manish Boy." Accompanying Muddy Waters on vocals and guitar were Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Junior Wells on harmonica, Fred Below on drums, and an un-identified female chorus. The original version was the only recording done by Muddy Waters between January 1953 and June 1957 that did not feature Little Walter on harmonica and was one of few studio recordings with Junior Wells.[1]
Muddy Waters recorded several versions of "Mannish Boy" during his career. In 1968, he recorded it for the Electric Mud album in Marshall Chess' attempt to attract the rock market. After he left Chess, he recorded it for the 1977 Hard Again album which was produced by Johnny Winter. The song also was included on the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters - Live (1979).
Charts and accolades
The song reached #5 during a stay of six weeks in the Billboard R&B chart.[3] The song was Muddy Waters only chart appearance on the UK Singles Chart peaking at #51.[4]
In 1986, Muddy Waters' original "Mannish Boy" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.[5] It was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[6] "Mannish Boy" is ranked #229 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[7]
Cover versions
A cover by Jimi Hendrix appears on the compilation album Blues. Paul Butterfield covered the song in 1986 on his album The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again. It was covered by Hindu Love Gods in their album of the same name. The song also appears on The Bocephus Box, a three-CD box set by Hank Williams, Jr., released in 2000. Elliott Murphy covered it in 2005 on Murphy gets Muddy. The Rolling Stones have often incorporated this song, among other blues standards, into their live set, and it can be heard on the albums Love You Live and Rarities 1971-2003. Wolfmother did a cover of the song for their special edition version of Cosmic Egg. Black Stone Cherry performed a heavier version along with Hoochie Coochie Man in October 2009 at Rockaplast in Germany.
It was further rearranged in the 2003 Martin Scorsese documentary film series titled The Blues. In the fifth film, titled Godfathers and Sons and directed by Marc Levin, Mannish Boy was redone by The ElectriK Mud Kats[8] (a.k.a. The Electric Mud Band, Muddy Waters' backing group from his album Electric Mud) with vocals by hip hop artists Chuck D, Common & Kyle Jason.
Roger Daltrey performed a cover of the song on Jools Holland's New Years show on December 31, 2010.
A version of the song recorded by Erykah Badu was featured in an H&M TV advert in spring 2011.[9]
Aerosmith performed the song on The Howard Stern Show on January 13, 1995.
References
- ^ a b c George R. White; Robert L. Campbell, Tom Kelly. "The Chess Label Part II (1953–1955)". Robert Campbell. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/chess2.html. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ In first release it was titled "Manish Boy". Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 454. ISBN 1557282528.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942-1988. Record Research. p. 435. ISBN 0898200687.
- ^ "Muddy Waters". The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/muddy%20waters/. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ "Blues Hall of Fame - Inductees". Blues Foundation. 1986. http://www.blues.org/#ref=halloffame_inductees. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
- ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll (Artists W-Z)". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090208221458/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-wz/.
- ^ Jann S. Wenner, ed (December 9, 2004). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone (United States: Jann S. Wenner) (963). Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20080625061023/www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/3.
- ^ Scorsese M. http://www.pbs.org/theblues/songsartists/songsdiscsons.html
- ^ http://www.erykah-badu.com/upload/news.php?fn_page=3
Categories:- 1955 singles
- Chess Records singles
- Muddy Waters songs
- Songs written by Bo Diddley
- The Rolling Stones songs
- Blues songs
- English-language songs
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