Do Wah Diddy Diddy
Encyclopedia
"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry
and Ellie Greenwich
and originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters
.
It was soon covered by British R&B, Beat
and pop
band Manfred Mann
. Manfred Mann's version, which was more commercially successful, was recorded on June 11, 1964, released on July 10 and spent two weeks #1 in the UK Singles Chart
in August and two weeks at the #1 spot in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
in October.
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
and Ellie Greenwich
Ellie Greenwich
Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
and originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters
The Exciters
The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, although a male member was added later. The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker....
.
It was soon covered by British R&B, Beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
. Manfred Mann's version, which was more commercially successful, was recorded on June 11, 1964, released on July 10 and spent two weeks #1 in the UK Singles Chart
UK 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 ...
in August and two weeks at the #1 spot in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in October.
Other cover versions
- "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" was covered by French singer SheilaSheila (singer)Sheila is a French pop singer, who became successful as a solo artist in the 1960s and 1970s and later fronted a disco act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Sheila has sold over 24,000,000 copies of records in France and was the top selling artist in France in the 1960s and 1970s...
in 1964, as "Vous les copains" ("You, my friends"). It was also covered that year by QuébécoisQuébécoisThe French word Québécois and anglicised as ' , is used in both French and English to refer to different persons or concepts, depending on the language and/or the context in which the word is being used...
singer Tony Roman, as "Do Wha Diddy". - The British pop band, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & TichDave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & TichDave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich , were a British pop/rock group of the 1960s. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached Number One in the UK with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu".-Biography:Five friends from Wiltshire, David John Harman,...
covered the song, and it appears on their greatest hits album. - Andrew GoldAndrew GoldAndrew Maurice Gold was an American singer, musician and songwriter. His works include the Top 10 single "Lonely Boy" , as well as the singles "Thank You for Being a Friend" , and "Never Let Her Slip Away" ....
covered the song on his 1976 album What's Wrong with This Picture. - The song was covered by DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
girl groupGirl groupA girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
the Dolly DotsDolly DotsDolly Dots were a popular Dutch girl band in the 1980s. With their style of upbeat dance/pop, they scored many hits throughout Europe. The sextet consisted of Angela Groothuizen, Angéla Kramers, Anita Heilker, Esther Oosterbeek, Patty Zomer and Ria Brieffies....
in 1982. - The FoolsThe FoolsThe Fools are a Massachusetts rock band best known for the party atmosphere of their live performances and tongue-in-cheek original songs, covers and parodies.-History:...
, a Massachusetts rock band, did their version in 1985 which was extensively played on MTV. - The song was parodied by the controversial hip hopHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group 2 Live Crew2 Live Crew2 Live Crew was a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.- Early career :...
on their 1988 album Move SomethinMove Somethin' (album)Move Somethin' is the second album by Miami rap group 2 Live Crew. The album was released in 1987 for Luke Records and was produced by Luke Skyywalker and Mr. Mixx. The album was certified Gold and featured the singles, "Move Somethin' and "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"...
, and by the Macc LadsMacc LadsThe Macc Lads were a punk and hard rock band from Macclesfield, UK. Self-proclaimed "rudest, crudest, lewdest, drunkest band in Christendom", The Macc Lads used irreverent and foul-mouthed lyrics, political incorrectness, drinking, sexism and homophobia....
in their song Manfred Macc. - The MoffattsThe MoffattsThe Moffatts were a Canadian pop/rock band, composed of brothers Scott, Clint, Bob and Dave Moffatt. Eldest brother Scott was born on March 30, 1983 in Whitehorse, Yukon. Less than a year later, on March 8, 1984, triplets Bob, Clint and Dave were born in Vancouver, British Columbia...
covered the song in 1995. - The song was remade by a Korean idol group ShinhwaShinhwaShinhwa is a popular South Korean boy band and hip hop group. The group has six members , and debuted on March 24, 1998. It has enjoyed massive success alongside the likes of Sechs Kies, g.o.d., Turbo , Fin. K.L., H.O.T. and S.E.S...
in 1998. - DJ ÖtziDJ ÖtziDJ Ötzi is the stage name of Gerhard Friedle , an Austrian entertainer and singer. Successful mainly in German-speaking countries, he is best known in the English-speaking world for his 2001 cover version of the Bruce Channel song "Hey Baby".-Biography:DJ Ötzi was born Gerhard Friedle in St...
released his cover version in 2001. - Riders in the Sky released a Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
version on the album Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory FavoritesMonsters, Inc. Scream Factory FavoritesMonsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites is a studio recording released by the Western band Riders in the Sky on August 27, 2002. It is available as a single CD....
in 2002.
Cultural references
- As a result of the song's prominent use by Bill MurrayBill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
and Harold RamisHarold RamisHarold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
in the 1981 film1981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
StripesStripes (film)Stripes is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, and John Candy. It also featured several actors in their first significant film roles, including John Larroquette, Sean Young, John Diehl, and Judge Reinhold. It was one...
, it has become a popular military cadence. - The song is a repeated motif in LA Story, a 1991 film1991 in filmThe year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
by Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
. - It was used as the theme song for the Philippine television series Ang TVAng TVAng TV also known as ATV is a "gag-variety" show for kids in the Philippines. The show's format was inspired by its predecessor "Kaluskos Musmos" and its foreign counterpart "The Mickey Mouse Club"...
during the 1990s. - The song was sung by Jesse and the Rippers on Full HouseFull HouseFull House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
. - The song was sung by Melissa McCarthy during an episode of Mike and Molly after her character had gotten drugged up.
- The song was featured in the 1991 film1991 in filmThe year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
My GirlMy Girl (film)My Girl is a 1991 drama film directed by Howard Zieff and written by Laurice Elehwany. The film depicts the coming-of-age of a young girl who faces many different emotional highs and lows and stars Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis in their first film together since 1983's Trading Places. The film...
, sung by main character Vada Sultenfuss when dealing with distressing situations - The song was sung by Jill Taylor in the episode "Advise and Repent" on Home Improvement
- The songs tune was featured in Short Circuit 2Short Circuit 2Short Circuit 2 is a 1988 comedy science fiction film, the sequel to 1986's film Short Circuit. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson, and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahrvi , Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sandy Banatoni, and Tim Blaney as the voice of Johnny 5 Short Circuit 2 is a...
in an attempt to guide Sandy Banatoni to the Doo Wah's chinese restaurant where Benjamin Jahrvi and Fred Ritter are trapped.
See also
- List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1964 (U.S.)