Bad Boy (Larry Williams song)

"Bad Boy" is a song written and recorded by American R&B musician Larry Williams. Specialty Records released it as a single in 1958, but it failed to reach the U.S. Billboard charts. However, music journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls it one of Williams's "genuine rock & roll classics" and notes its popularity among 1960s British Invasion groups, such as the Beatles.[1]

"Bad Boy"
Single by Larry Williams
B-side"She Said Yeah"
Released1959 (1959)
RecordedAugust 14, 1958
StudioRadio Recorders, Hollywood, California
GenreR&B
LabelSpecialty
Songwriter(s)Larry Williams
Larry Williams singles chronology
"I Was a Fool"
(1958)		 "Bad Boy"
(1959)		 "Steal a Little Kiss"
(1959)

Original song

Williams was among the early rhythm and blues artists to adapt his style to the new rock and roll sound.[2] The lyrics reflect a teenage sensibility: "He's a guy who causes trouble in the classroom, puts chewing gum in little girls' hair, and doesn't want to go to school to learn to read and write", according to critic Richie Unterberger.[2] Musically, he calls it:

rather conventional if energetic early rock'n'roll, sounding like a more pop-oriented Little Richard, as Williams was wont to do. He made it more effective than a common generic early rock'n'roll tune, however, with some start-stop tempos, devious blues-rock guitar, spoken comic "he's a ... bad boy" interjections after lines in the verse, and exaggerated whoops and, most memorably, falsetto commands "Now Junior, behave yourself!".[2]

Music writer Gene Sculatti compares it to Williams's earlier song "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy", but with backup vocals more like the Coasters "Charlie Brown" and the Everly Brothers "Bird Dog", both Billboard chart hits.[3]

Personnel

The song was recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on August 14, 1958, by:[3]

The Beatles version
"Bad Boy"
Sheet music cover
Song by the Beatles
Released
  • June 14, 1965 (1965-06-14) (US)
  • December 10, 1966 (1966-12-10) (UK)
RecordedMay 10, 1965
StudioEMI, London
GenreRock and roll[4]
Length2:21
Label
Songwriter(s)Larry Williams
Producer(s)George Martin

"Bad Boy" is one of several Larry Williams songs the English rock band the Beatles recorded during their career. They recorded it on May 10, 1965, (Williams' birthday), along with Williams' "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy," and was originally intended solely for release in North America. "Bad Boy" was first released on the American album Beatles VI in June 1965, while "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" appeared on the British Help! album in August of that year. "Bad Boy" was eventually released in the UK on the compilation album A Collection of Beatles Oldies, in December 1966;[5] it was later released worldwide on the 1988 compilation album Past Masters, Volume One, as well as its 2009 reissue, Past Masters, which combines both volumes.

The song was released on an eponymous EP in Sweden together with "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", "I'm Looking Through You" and "In My Life". This EP sold so well that "Bad Boy" reached numbers seven on the country's sales chart, Kvällstoppen and five on the radio chart Tio i Topp in December 1966.[6][7]

Personnel

Other versions

The Australian group the Twilights, which had formed in 1964 largely because of a shared enthusiasm for the Beatles, released a recording 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.

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Larry Williams – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  2. Unterberger, Richie. "Larry Williams: 'Bad Boy' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  3. Sculatti, Gene (1989). Larry Williams: Bad Boy (Album notes). Larry Williams. Specialty Records. pp. 2, 7. SPCD 7002.
  4. Frontani, Micheal (2009). The Beatles: Image and the Media. p. 114. ISBN 978-1604731569.
  5. Miles, Barry (2009). The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years. London: Omnibus Press. eBook. ISBN 978-0-85712-000-7.
  6. Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. ISBN 978-9163021404.
  7. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium. ISBN 919727125X.
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