Mannish Boy
Encyclopedia
"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
"). "Mannish Boy" features a repeating stop-time
figure on one chord throughout the song and is credited to Waters, Mel London
, and Bo Diddley
.
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.
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).
peaking at #51.
In 1986, Muddy Waters' original "Mannish Boy" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
"Classics of Blues Recordings" category. It was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
's list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". "Mannish Boy" is ranked #229 in Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
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 (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.
Aerosmith
performed the song on The Howard Stern Show on January 13, 1995.
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
in 1955. It is an arrangement of (and an "answer song
Answer song
An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...
" to) Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's "I'm a Man
I'm A Man (Bo Diddley song)
"I'm a Man" is a song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. A moderately slow blues with a stop-time figure, it was inspired by an earlier blues song and became a #1 R&B chart hit. "I'm a Man" has been acknowledged by Rolling Stone magazine and has been recorded by a variety of artists,...
" (which in turn was inspired by Waters' and Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
's "Hoochie Coochie Man
Hoochie Coochie Man
"Hoochie Coochie Man" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters in 1954 . The song was a major hit upon its release, reaching #8 on Billboard magazine's Black Singles chart...
"). "Mannish Boy" features a repeating stop-time
Stop-time
In tap dancing, jazz, and blues, stop-time is an accompaniment pattern interrupting, or stopping, the normal time and featuring regular accented attacks on the first beat of each or every other measure alternating with silence or solos. Stop-time appears infrequently in ragtime music...
figure on one chord throughout the song and is credited to Waters, Mel London
Mel London
Mel London was a songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the Chicago blues and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s...
, and Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
.
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 RogersJimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
on guitar, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
on harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, Fred Below
Fred Below
Fred Below was a leading blues drummer, best known for his innovative work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. Nobody laid more of the Chicago blues rhythmic foundations, particularly its archetypal backbeat, than Fred Below.-Career:He was born in Chicago, and started playing drums...
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
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
on harmonica and was one of few studio recordings with Junior Wells.
Muddy Waters recorded several versions of "Mannish Boy" during his career. In 1968, he recorded it for the Electric Mud
Electric Mud
Electric Mud is a studio album by Muddy Waters. Released in 1968, it is a concept album which imagines Muddy Waters as a psychedelic musician...
album in Marshall Chess
Marshall Chess
Marshall Chess is the son and nephew of the founders of Chess Records, the Chicago-based independent record label that first recorded an unprecedented list of African-American, blues and early rock and roll artists such as: Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, Sonny Boy...
' attempt to attract the rock market. After he left Chess, he recorded it for the 1977 Hard Again
Hard Again
Hard Again is a 1977 Chicago-style electric blues album by Muddy Waters. It was recorded by its producer, Johnny Winter, in a rough, bare-bones style...
album which was produced by Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
. The song also was included on the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters - Live
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters - Live
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters - Live is a live album by Muddy Waters. The recording was awarded the Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1979.-Track listing:All tracks composed by McKinley Morganfield; except where indicated...
(1979).
Charts and accolades
The song reached #5 during a stay of six weeks in the Billboard R&B chart. The song was Muddy Waters only chart appearance on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
peaking at #51.
In 1986, Muddy Waters' original "Mannish Boy" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
"Classics of Blues Recordings" category. It was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
's list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". "Mannish Boy" is ranked #229 in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Cover versions
A cover by Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
appears on the compilation album Blues. Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
covered the song in 1986 on his album The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again. It was covered by Hindu Love Gods
Hindu Love Gods (band)
Hindu Love Gods was an American pop/rock and blues band that was, in essence, an occasional side project of members of R.E.M., with Warren Zevon and Bryan Cook.-History:...
in their album of the same name
Hindu Love Gods (album)
Hindu Love Gods is the only album by American band Hindu Love Gods, released in 1990. The album was recorded around the same time as Warren Zevon's album Sentimental Hygiene, for which Zevon had enlisted Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills of R.E.M. as players. The musicians also recorded this...
. The song also appears on The Bocephus Box, a three-CD box set by Hank Williams, Jr.
Hank Williams, Jr.
Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...
, released in 2000. Elliott Murphy
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, producer and journalist living in Paris.-Biography:Elliott James Murphy, Jr. was born in Rockville Centre, New York to a show business family...
covered it in 2005 on Murphy gets Muddy. The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
have often incorporated this song, among other blues standards, into their live set, and it can be heard on the albums Love You Live
Love You Live
Love You Live is a double live album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1977. It is drawn from Tour of the Americas shows in the US in the summer of 1975, Tour of Europe shows in 1976 and performances from the infamous El Mocambo nightclub concert venue in Toronto in 1977...
and Rarities 1971-2003
Rarities 1971-2003
Rarities 1971–2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records - as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America - and features a selection of rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003...
. Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
did a cover of the song for their special edition version of Cosmic Egg
Cosmic Egg
Cosmic Egg is the second studio album by Australian rock band Wolfmother, released on 23 October 2009. It is the first album by the second lineup of the band, featuring vocalist, songwriter and lead guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, rhythm guitarist Aidan Nemeth and...
. Black Stone Cherry
Black Stone Cherry
Black Stone Cherry is an American rock band formed in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky. They are signed to Roadrunner Records. The band consists of Chris Robertson , Ben Wells , Jon Lawhon , and John Fred Young...
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
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
documentary film series titled The Blues
The Blues (film)
The Blues is a 2003 documentary film series produced by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to the history of blues music. In each of the seven episodes, a different director explores a stage in the development of the blues...
. In the fifth film, titled Godfathers and Sons and directed by Marc Levin
Marc Levin
Marc Levin is an independent film producer and director. He is best known for his Brick City TV series, which won the 2010 Peabody award and was nominated for an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking and his dramatic feature film, SLAM, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance...
, Mannish Boy was redone by The ElectriK Mud Kats (a.k.a. The Electric Mud Band, Muddy Waters' backing group from his album Electric Mud
Electric Mud
Electric Mud is a studio album by Muddy Waters. Released in 1968, it is a concept album which imagines Muddy Waters as a psychedelic musician...
) with vocals by hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
artists Chuck D
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...
, Common
Common (rapper)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....
& Kyle Jason
Kyle Jason
Kyle Jason is a singer, songwriter, musician and performer from Roosevelt, New York. He was the host of The Kyle Jason Show on Air America Radio. The program was broadcast every Saturday night from 2004 until January 2006...
.
Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
performed a cover of the song on Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
's New Years show on December 31, 2010.
A version of the song recorded by Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
was featured in an H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
TV advert in spring 2011.
Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
performed the song on The Howard Stern Show on January 13, 1995.