Manfred Mann
Here today we have one of the most recognizable songs known to man. The impossibly infections, ridiculously timeless,
Do Wah Diddy Diddy as performed by Manfred Mann. The band was Paul Jones on vocals, Mike Hugg, Manfred Mann, Tom McGuness and Mike Vickers. The Manfred's recorded the number on June 11, 1964. The HMV Records single hit the number 1 spot on the UK charts in August and held on for 2 weeks as the top seller. In the US, the single was released on Ascot in late August and slowly climbed its way to the number 1 spot on the US charts in early October. Is stayed atop the charts for 2 straight weeks. Not bad. But, it is not a Manfred Mann original. It was a cover of...
The Exciters
...a song by US soul group, The Exciters. The Exciters were Brenda Reid, Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lilian Walker. They had already hit gold with their hit Tell Him when they recorded the Tin Pan Alley composition, Do Wah Diddy Diddy and released it on United Artists in November of 1963. The Exciters version fell pretty flat in the US.
Well I'll be. Haven't heard this Exciters version either. You'd think I'd know better, but always thought the Manfred Mann wrote this themselves. It's just so Manfred Mannish. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. It was written by Brill Building stalwarts, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. A husband and wife team whom wrote Da Do Ron Ron (see the similarity?), Be My Baby, Leader of the Pack for the Shangri-Las and River Deep, Mountain High with which Ike and Tina scored a hit.
DeleteBoth versions are pretty damn cool. And it is very Manfred Mannish. Paul Jones is so superb on it.
What does "Tin Pan Alley" mean?
ReplyDeleteYeah. Let me explain. Tin Pan Alley is a neighborhood in New York where, in the 50s and 60s, a number of music publishers were located. Songwriters like Greenwich and Barry, Mann and Weil, Leiber and Stoller, and Goffin and King and Neil Diamond took up residence at these publishing houses and churned out hit after hit. In the previous comment response, I refer to the Brill Building. It was the most famous of the addresses in Tin Pan Alley because of the songwriters who were ensconced there.
DeleteI had NO idea this was a cover.
ReplyDeleteI never liked the Manfred Mann version. It always seemed flat and dull. But when I heard the Exciters' original, I fell in love and still play it on repeat. Between the orchestration, the harmonies, Brenda's soulful, soaring vocals, and that churchy syncopated ending, it's a real shame their version tanked.
ReplyDelete