I'm a Man (Bo Diddley song)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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George Thorogood's well-known song "Bad to the Bone" (for which Diddley appeared in the music video) and AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" also borrow heavily from the guitar riff, vocal melody, and overall structure of "I'm a Man". |
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"I'm a Man" is a popular American song written and released by Bo Diddley in March 1955 on Checker Records as B-side to his hit "Bo Diddley". The writing credit is under Diddley's name Ellas McDaniel). Based on Muddy Waters' 1951 blues song "She Moves Me", Muddy Waters recorded a cover of "I'm a Man" in May 1955, retitled "Mannish Boy," a play on words on Bo Diddley's younger age as it related to the primary theme of the song.
Jacques Dutronc's "La fille du père Noël" and David Bowie's "Jean Genie" share a riff likely derived from the Yardbirds' accelerated version of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man."
Cover and derivative versions
The song has been covered often by blues and rock musicians, most famously by The Yardbirds. It was released as single and later included on the 1965 US-compilation Having a Rave Up. The Yardbirds' version (with "Still I'm Sad" as its B-side, released by Epic in the US) peaked at #17 on the American charts in late 1965. The Yardbird's version is also noted for the rhythm change, when the beat speeds up, featuring some unusual percussionsm making clacking sounds, until it ends in a climax. The Royal Guardsmen also recorded the song, as well as Doug Sahm, who performed the song in a San Francisco nightclub, in the film "More American Graffiti".
The Who recorded the song for their debut album "My Generation" (1965). The Japanese psychedelic band The Beavers covered the song in the late 1960s, as did the Yellow Payges. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers covered this song throughout their 2006 North American "Highway Companion" Tour.
In the hit American Woman by The Guess Who, singer Burton Cummings spells out "American Woman" in a similar fashion to how Bo Diddley spells "Man". George Thorogood's well-known song Bad to the Bone (for which Diddley appeared in the music video) and AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie also borrow heavily from the guitar riff, vocal melody, and overall structure of I'm a Man.
