"Devil with a Blue Dress On" (also known as "Devil with the Blue Dress") is a song written by

Shorty Long Shorty is a nickname, usually for a short person. See Shorty (nickname). Shorty may also refer to: Music Artists * Ras Shorty I, Trinidadian artist and founder of soca music. * Shorty (band), an American rock band formed in 1991 * Shorty (Ameri ...

and

William "Mickey" Stevenson William "Mickey" Stevenson (born January 4, 1937) is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967. Life and career He was born William Stevenson and, a ...

, first performed by Long and released as a single in 1964. A later version recorded by

Mitch Ryder Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...

and

The Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American Rock music, rock band, formed in Detroit in 1964. They served as Mitch Ryder's backup band from 1964 to 1967. The band had a number of Billboard Hot 100, top twenty hits in the mid-1960s before lead singer Ry ...

in 1966 peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Song information

"Devil with the Blue Dress" was originally released as Shorty Long's debut single on Motown in 1964, but the single failed to chart. The song describes a femme fatale in a blue dress and not an actual devil. Two years later, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels recorded the song at

Bell Sound Studios Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by ...

in New York City as a medley with an original arrangement of Little Richard's "

Good Golly, Miss Molly "Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a hit rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by the American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as Specialty single 624 and next in July 1958 on '' Little Richard''. The song, a jump blues, was ...

". Their version was notably more up-tempo than Long's more blues-influenced rendition. Reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100, their version of the track would end up becoming their most well-known and highest charting hit in the United States. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it No. 428 on their list of Top 500 Songs of All Time.

Later versions

"Devil with a Blue Dress On" was also recorded by

Pratt & McClain Pratt & McClain was an American musical duo known originally called Brother Love consisting of Jerry McClain and Truett Pratt, along with various sidemen. They scored a '' Billboard'' No. 5 hit in 1976 with "Happy Days", the theme to the sitc ...

, who are best known for the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

from the television series ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

''. Bruce Springsteen's version of the song was part of the No Nukes concert album in 1980, and he has performed it regularly in concert from the 1970s to the present as part of his '' Detroit Medley''. A Spanish language version of the song was recorded by Los Lobos and released on the ''

Eating Raoul ''Eating Raoul'' is a 1982 American black comedy film written, directed by and starring Paul Bartel with Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, and Susan Saiger. It is about a prudish married couple (Bartel and Woronov) who r ...

'' film soundtrack in 1982. The Duke University basketball pep band plays this song during Blue Devil home games and after Blue Devil victories at

Cameron Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke men's and ...

in Durham, North Carolina. A version of the song was recorded by Nicholas O'Har for the 1990 spoof of ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...

'', '' Repossessed''.

References

1964 singles 1966 singles Songs written by William "Mickey" Stevenson Motown singles Shorty Long songs Mitch Ryder songs 1964 songs Song recordings produced by Bob Crewe Songs written by Shorty Long {{1960s-single-stub