Do Wah Diddy Diddy – Manfred Mann | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 2 weeks); 1964
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
British Beat groups were infatuated with American rhythm and blues recordings; the more obscure, the better. The Beatles’ in-person repertoire included many such tunes, some of which – such as the Donays’ Devil In His Heart and Larry Williams‘ Slow Down – the Fab Four also recorded as album tracks. The same held true for other bands all over England, including Manfred Mann, headed by Manfred Lubovitz from Johannesburg, South Africa. Manfred moved to England in 1962, where he taught and played music, and wrote for Jazz News – as Manfred Mann. Later that year he founded the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers. After the inevitable game of musician musical chairs, the band, now called Manfred Mann, landed a recording contract. In 1964 the Manfreds released the first of many covers, in this case a version of Do-Wah-Diddy, written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. The Exciters’ original had peaked at #76 in January of 1964, and eight months later Manfred Mann took it to the top of the Hot 100.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- John Burgess
Lyrics Written by:
- Jeff Barry
- Ellie Greenwich
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).