Mannish Boy
by Muddy Waters

Album: Real Folk Blues (1955)
Charted: 51

Songfacts®:

  • This classic blues song is an affirmation of masculinity. It's a reworking of the Bo Diddley song "I'm A Man."
  • Muddy Waters originally recorded this in 1955, then re-recorded it in 1977 for his Hard Again album in a version produced by Johnny Winter.
  • The repetitive guitar line is easy to play, but very memorable. Waters used the same basic riff on his song "Hoochie Coochie Man." This riff appears on many other blues songs in both the five-note and a shortened four-note version. George Thorogood used it for his song "Bad To The Bone."
  • The Rolling Stones often played this in their early days and released it on their 1977 Love You Live album. Muddy Waters was a huge influence on The Stones; their name comes from his song "Rollin' Stone."
  • This was used in the movie The Long Kiss Goodnight, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Geena Davis. It also appears in Better Off Dead, Risky Business and Goodfellas (as part of the "Sunday, May 11th, 1980" montage). >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France, for all above

Comments: 3

  • Oldpink from New Castle, InSometimes when Muddy performed this in front of an audience, he would shake up a full beer bottle, stick it in the front of his pants, then open it up during the part when he bellows "Im a man!"
    Foam sprayed all over the place, and it was a naughty, but very funny bit of stage theater.
    Definitely the archetype for the rockers who followed long after he did, and those rockers to this day more often than not idolize him.
  • Matthew from Columbia, MoA remake of this song was used in the first episode of the Sopranos, (when Christopher 'whacks' a guy in the meat store.) Personally, I think they should have used the original, but that's just me.
  • Pytlak from Bakersfield, CaThis song is also performed by Muddy Waters in The Band's concert film, The Last Waltz.
see more comments

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