B-side "She Said Yeah" Format 7" single Writer(s) Larry Williams | Released 1959 Genre R&B | |
Label Specialty Records 658 (US)
London HLU 8844 (UK) | ||
"Bad Boy" is a song composed and recorded by Larry Williams. The song was recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California on August 14, 1958. The musicians on the recording included Williams on vocals and piano, Earl Palmer on drums, René Hall on guitar, Jewell Grant on baritone sax, Plas Johnson on tenor sax, and Ted Brinson on bass. The record did not break the Top 40 charts in the United States.
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"She Said Yeah" was originally the B-side of the Larry Williams single, and has been covered by the Rolling Stones and the Animals, amongst others. The Beatles loved the song and almost certainly performed it on stage and fully intended to record it. Paul McCartney in the liner notes to his album Run Devil Run said "Me and John [Lennon] particularly loved Larry Williams...Bony Moronie...John did Slow Down...I was always going to do She Said Yeah". Roy Young (who was invited to join The Beatles) recorded a cover version in 1959. Paul McCartney finally recorded it in 1999.
The song, recorded between 1957 and 1958, also appears on the 1992 compilation of the same name.
The Beatles
"Bad Boy" is one of several Larry Williams songs which the Beatles covered during their career. Along with "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy", "Bad Boy" was recorded by the band on May 10, 1965 (Larry Williams' birthday), and was originally intended for a solely American release; however, "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" featured on the British Help! album that year. "Bad Boy" was first released on Beatles VI in June 1965. It eventually got a UK release on A Collection of Beatles Oldies in December 1966. It is also available on the 1988 release, Past Masters, Volume One.
Personnel
Other covers
The Australian group The Twilights, which had formed in 1964 largely because of a shared enthusiasm for The Beatles, released a cover of "Bad Boy" in June 1966, which was a Top 10 hit in many parts of Australia. The Twilights' lead singer was Glenn Shorrock, who went on to international success with the Little River Band.
The Canadian progressive rock band Rush featured "Bad Boy" in a Led Zeppelin–type arrangement during their early live shows. The Cleveland bootleg New in Town features the song, as well as an extended solo from guitarist Alex Lifeson. Vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee introduces the song as being from the Beatles VI album. After 1974, the group no longer performed the song live.
The song appears on the Cowboy Junkies first live album 200 More Miles: Live Performances 1985-1994 as a hidden track (not listed on the CD package).