Mannish Boy
Song first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955
title: "Mannish Boy" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1955-singles", "chess-records-singles", "muddy-waters-songs", "songs-written-by-bo-diddley", "the-rolling-stones-songs", "answer-songs", "1955-songs", "songs-written-by-mel-london", "songs-written-by-muddy-waters"] description: "Song first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannish_Boy" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Song first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955 ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Manish Boy |
| cover | Muddywaters Mannish Boy.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Muddy Waters |
| album | Hard Again |
| B-side | Young Fashioned Ways |
| released | |
| recorded | Chicago, May 24, 1955 |
| genre | Blues |
| length | |
| label | Chess |
| producer | *Leonard Chess |
| prev_title | I'm Ready |
| prev_year | 1954 |
| next_title | Sugar Sweet |
| next_title2 | Trouble No More |
| next_year | 1955 |
| :: |
| name = Manish Boy | cover = Muddywaters Mannish Boy.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Muddy Waters | album = Hard Again | B-side = Young Fashioned Ways | released = | recorded = Chicago, May 24, 1955 | studio = | genre = Blues | length = | label = Chess | writer =
- McKinley Morganfield Muddy Waters
- Mel London
- Ellas McDaniel a.k.a. Bo Diddley | producer = *Leonard Chess
- Phil Chess | prev_title = I'm Ready | prev_year = 1954 | next_title = Sugar Sweet | next_title2 = Trouble No More | next_year = 1955
"Mannish Boy" (or "Manish Boy" as it was first labeled) is a blues standard written by Muddy Waters, Mel London, and Bo Diddley (with Waters and Diddley being credited under their birth names). First recorded in 1955 by Waters, it serves as an "answer song" to Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man", which was in turn inspired by Waters' and Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man". | last = Herzhaft | first = Gerard | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Blues | section = I'm a Man | year = 1992 | location = Fayetteville, Arkansas | publisher = University of Arkansas Press | isbn = 1-55728-252-8 | page = 454
| url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofbl00herzh/page/454
Although the song contains sexual boasting, its repetition of "I'm a man, I spell M, A child, N" was understood as political. Waters had recently left the South for Chicago. "Growing up in the South, Black Americans [would] never be referred to as a manbut as 'boy'. In this context, the song [is] an assertion of black manhood."
Recordings and releases
Waters recorded the song in Chicago on May 24, 1955. It is his only recording between January 1953 and June 1957 that did not feature Little Walter on harmonica (who was on tour supporting his then-number one hit "My Babe" and thus unavailable for the recording session) and is one of few studio recordings with Junior Wells. Also accompanying Muddy Waters are Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Fred Below on drums, and an unidentified female chorus.
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. A live version with Winter appears on Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). Waters also performed it at the Band's farewell concert The Last Waltz, and the performance is included in the documentary film of the concert as well as on the film's soundtrack of the same title.
Charts and recognition
The song reached number five during a stay of six weeks in the Billboard R&B chart. | last = Whitburn | first = Joel | author-link = Joel Whitburn | title = Top R&B Singles 1942–1988 | year = 1988 | location = Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin | publisher = Record Research | isbn = 0-89820-068-7 | page = 453
| url = https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whit/page/453 | url = http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/muddy%20waters/ | title = Muddy Waters – Singles | website = Official Charts | access-date = March 7, 2011
In 1986, Muddy Waters' original "Mannish Boy" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame "Classics of Blues Recordings" category. | url = https://blues.org/blues_hof_inductee/manish-boy-muddy-waters-chess-1955/ | author = Blues Foundation | title = 1986 Hall of Fame Inductees: Manish Boy – Muddy Waters (Chess, 1955) | website = The Blues Foundation | date = November 10, 2016 | access-date = February 9, 2017 | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/muddy-waters-mannish-boy-2-1224913/ | author = | date = September 15, 2021 | title = The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2021) | website = Rollingstone.com | access-date= August 7, 2022
References
References
- "Show 4 - The Tribal Drum: The rise of rhythm and blues. [Part 2]".
- "Mannish Boy".
- Robert Palmer. (1981). "Deep Blues". [[Penguin Books]].
- "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll (Artists W-Z)". [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].
- Howe, Zoë. (2013). "The British Beat Explosion Rock 'n' Roll Island". Aurora Metro Books.
- (2006-06-27). "Blues Fest 2006: Back to the Roots -- The Mannish Boys, Friday, 10:30 p.m., Tent Stage".
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