Daddy's Home (song)

"Daddy's Home" is a famous song by American doo-wop group Shep and the Limelites. The song was written by the three members of the band, James "Shep" Sheppard (1935–1970), Clarence Bassett (1936–2005) and Charles Baskerville. The group recorded the original version of "Daddy's Home" on February 1, 1961, and it was released on Hull Records in March 1961 with the B-side being "This I Know".

"Daddy's Home"
Single by Shep and the Limelites
B-side	"This I Know"
Released	March 1961
Genre	R&B
Length	2:47
Label	Hull
Songwriter(s)	James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Shep and the Limelites singles chronology
"I'm So Lonely" (1961) "Daddy's Home" (1961) "Ready for Your Love" (1961)

The song is considered a sequel to the song "Thousand Miles Away", with the closing line in the coda being: "I'm Not a Thousand Miles Away".

"Daddy's Home" reached no. 2 on the Billboard popular music chart in May 1961.^[1] It was kept from No.1 by "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson.^[2]

Later songs by the band were not as successful as "Daddy's Home", but still sold well.^[3][4]

Part of a song cycle

The song is an example of James Sheppard's legacy of composing of rock 'n' roll's first-ever song cycle titles, telling the story of a relationship, beginning with going home to his girl, and further twists along the way, like getting married, celebrating their anniversary, problems encountered etc. The songs that told this story cycle were famously "A Thousand Miles Away", "500 Miles to Go", both with the Heartbeats; and continued with "Daddy's Home", "Three Steps from the Altar," "Our Anniversary", and "What Did Daddy Do?" for Shep and the Limelites.^[5]

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1961) Peak position Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[6] 11 US Billboard Hot 100[7] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[8] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1961) Rank US Billboard Hot 100[9] 41 US Cash Box [10] 27

Covers

The song was covered by many artists including P. J. Proby (1970), Frank Zappa (1971),^[11] Jermaine Jackson (1972), Toots and the Maytals (Funky Kingston 1973), The Carpenters (‘’Live In Japan’’ 1974, Richard Carpenter lead), Junior English, and Cliff Richard (1981).

Jermaine Jackson

"Daddy's Home"
Single by Jermaine Jackson
from the album Jermaine
B-side	"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me for a Little While)"
Released	November 15, 1972
Recorded	1972
Studio	Motown
Genre	Doo-wop[12] R&B
Length	2:59
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Jermaine Jackson singles chronology
"That's How Love Goes" (1972) "Daddy's Home" (1972) "You're in Good Hands" (1973)

Jermaine Jackson covered the song for his 1972 debut solo album, Jermaine, and it was released as the 2nd single from the album. His version featured the rest of the Jackson 5 on backing vocals. The single peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 in Canada in March 1973.^[13]

Record World said of this version "Beautifully produced, this funky ballad should be a natural winner."^[14]

His version was sampled in the 1973 break-in record "Super Fly Meets Shaft" (US #31).

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1973) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 27 Canada RPM Top Singles[15] 3 Netherlands 10 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 9 U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles[17] 3 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[18] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Canada [19] 38 U.S. Cash Box [20] 45

Cliff Richard version

"Daddy's Home (live)"
Single by Cliff Richard
from the album Wired for Sound
B-side	"Shakin' All Over (live)"
Released	6 November 1981
Recorded	1 May 1981[21]
Venue	Hammersmith Odeon
Genre	Pop, Doo-wop
Length	2:55
Label	EMI Records
Songwriter(s)	James Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Producer(s)	Cliff Richard[22]
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"Wired for Sound" (1981) "Daddy's Home (live)" (1981) "The Only Way Out" (1982)
Music video
"Daddy's Home" on YouTube

British singer Cliff Richard released a live version as a single for the Christmas period in 1981. It was the second single to be lifted from his 1981 album Wired for Sound.

The song became an international hit reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and number 23 on US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1982 - almost twenty years after the release of the original by Shep and the Limelites. In Britain, it was certified Gold by the BPI for sales over 500,000.^[23]

A video clip was recorded to accompany the single release instead of using footage of the original BBC live recording.^[24]

Chart performance and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1981–82) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[25] 8 Canada (RPM 50 Singles)[26] 41 Finland (IFPI Finland)[27] 20 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 8 Germany (GfK)[29] 73 Ireland (IRMA)[30] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 14 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[32] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[33] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[34] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[35] 23 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[36] 3 US Cash Box Top 100[37] 22

Year-end charts Chart (1981) Position UK Singles (OCC)[38] 27 Chart (1982) Position Australia (Kent Music Report) [39] 76 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 94 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[41] 50 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Gold 500,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Biography by Andrew Hamilton". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
2. "Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
3. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 208. CN 5585.
4. AllMusic, Shep & the Limelites Biography Retrieved February 19, 2016.
5. "Shep and the Limelites." The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 3. Enfield, England: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1992, p. 2247.
6. CHUM Hit Parade, May 15, 1961
7. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
8. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 10, 1961
9. Musicoutfitters.com
10. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1961
11. "FZShows: Unreleased, radio, and weird stuff".
12. Breihan, Tom (January 4, 2019). "The Number Ones: The Jackson 5's "The Love You Save"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 16, 2023. He had two songs that peaked at #9: the vaguely creepy 1972 doo-wop throwback ballad "Daddy's Home"...
13. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1973-04-14. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
14. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. December 9, 1972. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
15. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1973-04-14. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
16. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
17. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 283.
18. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, March 17, 1973
19. Canada, Library and Archives (December 26, 2017). "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada.
20. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1973
21. "Cliff Richard - Daddy's Home". www.cliffrichardsongs.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
22. Daddy's Home (7 inch). EMI Records. 1981.
23. "UK certification Database". BPI. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
24. Cliff Richard - "Daddy's Home" (video clip)
25. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 – 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
26. RPM 50 Singles, March 13, 1982
27. Lassila, Juha (1990). Mitä Suomi soittaa?: Hittilistat 1954-87 (in Finnish). Jyväskylän yliopisto. ISBN 978-951-680-321-3.
28. "Cliff Richard – Daddy's Home" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
29. "Cliff Richard – Daddy's Home" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
30. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Daddy's Home". Irish Singles Chart.
31. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
32. "Cliff Richard – Daddy's Home" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
33. "Cliff Richard – Daddy's Home". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
34. "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
35. "Cliff Richard Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
36. "Cliff Richard Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
37. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles 20 Mar 1982". Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
38. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1982). "The Top 200 Singles: January–December 1981". BPI Year Book 1982 (5th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 46–49. ISBN 0-906154-03-0.
39. "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. January 3, 1983. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.
40. "Jaaroverzichten 1982". Ultratop. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
41. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1982". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
42. "British single certifications – Cliff Richard – Daddy's Home". British Phonographic Industry.

External links

• Shep & the Limelites - Daddy's Home on YouTube
• Jermaine Jackson - Daddy's Home on YouTube
• Cliff Richard - Daddy's Home on YouTube