Do Wah Diddy Diddy

Not to be confused with Diddy Wah Diddy.

"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963, as "Do-Wah-Diddy", by the American vocal group the Exciters. Cash Box described the Exciters' version as "a sparkling rocker that bubbles over with coin-catching enthusiasm" and said that the "great lead job is backed by a fabulous instrumental arrangement."^[5] It was made internationally famous by the British band Manfred Mann.

"Do Wah Diddy Diddy"
Single by Manfred Mann
from the album The Manfred Mann Album
B-side	"What You Gonna Do?"
Released	10 July 1964
Recorded	June, 1964[1]
Genre	Rock[2][3]
Length	2:23
Label	HMV POP 1320 (UK)[4] Ascot (US) Capitol (Canada)
Songwriter(s)	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich[4]
Producer(s)	John Burgess[4]
Manfred Mann singles chronology
"Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble)" (1964) "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (1964) "Sha La La" (1964)

Manfred Mann version

It was soon covered by British R&B, beat and pop band Manfred Mann.^[6] Manfred Mann's version was released on 10 July 1964.^[7] It spent two weeks at No. 1 of the UK Singles Chart in August^[8] and two weeks at No. 1 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in October.^[9] Billboard said it "features powerful beat with Mann's solo echoed by male chorus."^[10] Cash Box described it as "a thumpin' novelty rocker that's right up the teeners' alley."^[2]

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1964) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 2 Belgium (Flanders) 8[11] Belgium (Wallonia) 13[12] Canada RPM Top Singles[13] 1 Finland (Suomen Virallinen)[14] 4 Germany 4[15] Ireland (IRMA)[16] 2 Netherlands 6[17] Norway 4[18] Sweden 1 UK (OCC) 1 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1964) Rank Australia [20][21] 19 US Billboard Hot 100[22] 15

Fun Factory version

"Doh Wah Diddy"
Single by Fun Factory
from the album Fun-Tastic
Released	November 30, 1995
Recorded	1995
Genre	Eurodance
Length	3:31
Label	Curb
Songwriter(s)	Jeff Barry Ellie Greenwich
Producer(s)	Bülent Aris Toni Cottura
Fun Factory singles chronology
"Celebration" (1995) "Doh Wah Diddy" (1995) "Don't Go Away" (1996)
Music video
"Do Wah Diddy" on YouTube

In 1995, Fun Factory released a new version of the song. Only a few lines of lyrics were retained, and supplemented by rap passages. It reached the top 10 in Germany and Spain and No.11 in Austria.

Track listings

CD-Maxi

1. Doh Wah Diddy (Dee Dee Radio) – 3:31
2. Doh Wah Diddy (Dee Dee Fun-Tastic Extended) – 4:43
3. Doh Wah Diddy (Fly Bass Remix) – 4:31
4. Doh Wah Diddy (Medium Houze) – 4:43
5. Fun Factory's Theme II – 3:24

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[23]	152
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[24]	11
Canada Dance (RPM)	24
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[25]	33
France (SNEP)[26]	49
Germany (GfK)[27]	6
Spain (AFYVE)	4

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Germany (Official German Charts)[28]	64

Other cover versions

• The song has been covered many times, notably by DJ Ötzi whose version titled "Do Wah Diddy" peaked at No.9 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40, as well as charting in Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Ireland.

• A French cover version, "Vous les copains, je ne vous oublierai jamais", by Sheila (singer) became a big hit in France in 1964.

• Swedish singer Claes Dieden reached number 14 on Tio i Topp with his rendition in 1969.^[29]

• American musician Andrew Gold also covered Do Wah Diddy on his 1976 album “What’s wrong with this picture”.

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 1981 film Stripes, used as a marching cadence by characters played by Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in boot camp. This usage inspired real-life Army units to use it as a marching song.^[30]

The song was performed on the Muppet Show by "Geri and the Atrics", a group of elderly female musicians. (Episode 413, air date 1980)

The novelty item Travis the Singing Trout, a successor to Big Mouth Billy Bass sings a parody version of the song, about how the fish ended up mounted on a plaque.

The song was featured in the Full House episode "A Fish Called Martin", sung by Michelle.

The song was the theme song of popular Filipino Kids Show Ang TV.

The song was performed by Jett Pangan and the cast of Ang TV with the candidates of Binibining Pilipinas 1995 during its coronation night.

See also

• List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1964

References

1. D&j (5 June 2018). "Manfred Mann - Down the Road Apiece: Their EMI Recordings 1963-1966". Retrieved 3 March 2019.
2. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 29, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
3. Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 44.
4. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1 ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 82. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
5. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 16, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
6. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 166. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
7. Archived May 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
8. "All the Number One Singles: 1964". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
9. Bronson, Fred (1992). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 158. ISBN 0-8230-8298-9.
10. "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. August 22, 1964. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
11. Swedish Charts website
12. Swedish Charts website as above
13. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1964-10-12. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
14. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 201. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
15. "Infinity Charts - German Top 20 for 1964". Archived from the original on 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Do Wah Diddy Diddy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
17. Swedish Charts website as above
18. Swedish Charts website as above
19. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
20. "Australian Chart Book". archive.is. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
21. List of Top 25 singles for 1964 in Australia
22. "Top 100 Hits of 1964/Top 100 Songs of 1964". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
23. "Fun Factory chart history, received from ARIA on 5 April 2022". Imgur.com. Retrieved 18 June 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
24. "Fun Factory – Doh Wah Diddy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
25. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 3 February 1996. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
26. "Fun Factory – Doh Wah Diddy" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
27. "Fun Factory – Doh Wah Diddy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
28. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
29. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 (in Swedish). Premium. p. 117. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
30. "How 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' became a marching song". MPRNews. October 23, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2022.