One of the best riffs in blues or rock. It’s been recycled in so many songs but never loses its bite. This song was a reworking of the Bo Diddley song “I’m A Man.” Great song by the great Muddy Waters.
Muddy recorded several versions of this song through the years. He recorded the original at Chess Records in Chicago in 1955. One of the reasons I love this song so much is because the guitar line is easy to play but very memorable. Waters used the same basic riff on his song “Hoochie Coochie Man.” George Thorogood also used it for his song “Bad To The Bone.”
The song peaked at #51 in the UK in 1988 and #5 in the R&B Charts in 1955.
Muddy Waters originally recorded this in 1955, then re-recorded it in 1977 for his Hard Again album in a version produced by Johnny Winter. The song was written by Muddy Waters, Mel London, and Bo Diddley.
He was born McKinley Morganfield in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, around 1913. Nicknamed “Muddy” as a child, he worked on the huge Stovall cotton plantation before following the northward migration of African Americans to Chicago, where he drove a truck and signed to Chess Records, a tiny blues label run by two émigré Polish brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess. As Muddy Waters, he established himself as a pioneering electric blues musician in the early 1950s.
Mannish Boys
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Everything gonna be alright this mornin’
Now, when I was a young boy
At the age of five
My mother said I was gonna be
The greatest man alive
But now I’m a man
I’m age twenty-one
I want you to believe me, honey
We having lots of fun
I’m a man (yeah)
I spell M
A, child
N
That represent man
No B
O, child
Y
That spell mannish boy
I’m a man
I’m a full-grown man
I’m a man
I’m a rollin’ stone
I’m a man
I’m a hoochie-coochie man
Sittin’ on the outside
Just me and my mate
I’m made to move
Come up two hours late
Wasn’t that a man?
I spell M
A, child
N
That represesnt man
No B
O, child
Y
That spell mannish boy
I’m a man
I’m a full-grown man
I’m a man
I’m a rolllin’ stone
I’m a man
Full-grown man
Oh, well
Oh, well
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In 1964, racial segregation in public institutions in the USA was abolished. In this light, “Mannish Boy,” first released in 1955, sounds like a declaration of independence.
Bo Diddley took the lick from Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man,” which was one of Muddy’s signature tunes. Amazing how things come back…
They do come back…no telling where these riffs originated.
Probably Washboard Ike or Blind Melon Chitlin…
Funny how some bands get raked over over the coals for borrowing a riff (Hello Zeppelin) and others like Thorogood its a no biggie lol
That’s a fair comment, DeKe, essentially since I’ve been among those folks criticizing Zep for repeatedly borrowing without acknowledging.
I think Zep were one of the greatest rock bands of all time and never minded the borrowing. It just bugged me that once it was pointed out to them, their egos were too big to acknowledge it – even though it wouldn’t have taken much if anything away from their music!
Course that was pre internet lol…Now there is no hiding.
I think the biggest difference was…yes riffs can be stolen or borrowed….but they did complete songs…
True! Plus, despite the fact that “Stairway’s” intro was clearly taken from from Spirit’s “Taurus”, to me, it still remains one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Messrs. Plant and Page should have put their big egos aside and admitted it. Given financial implications, I know I’m probably pretty naive here!
They ended up on several songs having to…like When the Levee Breaks…that is one.
Led Zeppelin did more than “borrow a riff”.
One of the most iconic blues guitar riffs! To me, it’s the blues equivalent of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”
I also love both of these clips. The Stones really worshipped Muddy Waters and it’s cool to see them perform with their hero! They were also instrumental in helping Waters and other African American blues artists gain popularity beyond Black audiences.
It’s a shame that it took the British invasion to show Americans what they were missing.
I know, it’s kind of ironical!
A blues classic
I agree…and that riff lives on
Muddy also spawned the careers of the great Otis Spann and Little Walter, as well as giving the Rolling Stones their name.
I’m a hoochie-coochie man and I enjoy getting some coochie.
Muddy Waters, the man who discovered electricity. Love the studio version you posted. Listened to it a zillion times. A greasy jam by the man. “No B!” Dont forget his second cousin “Little Johnny Conqueroo. You got the motor running this morning Max What a great band he had for this one. Johnny Winter caught it perfectly.
Yea that studio version sounds perfect…you can’t get any better than that.
The Last Waltz version is pretty cool also. For a lot of reasons. Again, great choice Max.
He’s got strong charisma. I’m surprised you didn’t mention this is the song he does in The Last Waltz concert. Great backup band for him 🙂
If I would have wrote this after Thanksgiving I would have…CB just mentioned it in the comments…I totally forgot about it.
Pleasant coincidence!
Brilliant how it’s just the same riff in the same key for five minutes, but it doesn’t drag. Powerful stuff.