"Nobody but Me" is a song written by

O'Kelly O'Kelly is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aloysius O'Kelly (1853–1936), Irish painter, brother of James Joseph O'Kelly * Auguste O'Kelly (1829–1900), music publisher in Paris * Christopher O'Kelly (1895–1922), Canadi ...

, Rudolph, and

Ronald Isley Ronald Isley (; born May 21, 1941) is an American recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sally ...

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

and first recorded by The Isley Brothers in 1962. The most commercially successful and widely known version to date is the 1968 US Top 10 hit by

The Human Beinz The Human Beinz ( ) is an American rock band from Youngstown, Ohio. Originally known as The Human Beingz, the band initially featured John "Dick" Belley (vocals, guitar), Joe "Ting" Markulin (vocals, guitar), Mel Pachuta (vocals, bass), and Gary ...

, which was their only chart success.

The Isley Brothers

The Isley Brothers' original version, released as a single on

Wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which ...

131, failed to make the pop or

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

The Human Beinz

The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

and made them

one-hit wonders A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

after it reached number eight on the '' Billboard'' pop singles chart in 1968. It was included on some versions of Lenny Kaye's ''

Nuggets Nuggets may refer to: Music * ''Nuggets'' (series), a series of compilation albums by Elektra Records, continued by Rhino * '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' * '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from ...

'' compilation. Dave Marsh, in his ''Book of Rock Lists'' named the version by the Human Beinz "The most negative song to hit the Top 40," noting that the word "no" is sung over 100 times in a mere 2:16. Marsh also counts the word "nobody" 46 times more; he adds "for balance, they throw in the word Yeah once".

Other versions, uses, and appearances

Liverpool group

The Mojos The Mojos were a British beat group from the 1960s, best known for their hit UK single, " Everything's Alright", with two other singles charting low in the UK Singles Chart in 1964. Biography The band formed under the name the Nomads as a ...

released it in 1964 (''The Mojos'' EP, Decca Records). Experimental group The Residents sampled it in the track "N-Er-Gee (Crisis Blues)" from their 1974 album ''

Meet the Residents ''Meet the Residents'' is the debut studio album by the American art rock group the Residents, released on April 1, 1974, through Ralph Records.Residents, The – Meet The Residents (CD, Album, Reissue, pREServed edition) 2018 (Cherry Red/New Ral ...

''. The French group The Dogs recorded their rendition in 1979 and included on the album ''Different''.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs " Bad to th ...

recorded a version more faithful to the Human Beinz cover than to the Isleys' original, and released it on 1982's ''

Bad to the Bone "Bad to the Bone" is a song by American blues rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers, released in 1982 on the album of the same name by EMI America Records. The song adapts the hook and lyrics of Muddy Waters' 1955 song " Mannish Boy". ...

''. Canadian band

Doug and the Slugs Doug and the Slugs are a Canadian pop music group formed in 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The band enjoyed a number of Canadian top 40 hits in the 1980s, most notably "Too Bad" (1980), "Who Knows How To Make Love Stay" (1982), "Making It W ...

released their cover in 1983. The L.A. punk band

the Dickies The Dickies are an American punk rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, in 1977. One of the longest tenured punk rock bands, they have been in continuous existence for over 40 years. They have consistently balanced catchy mel ...

recorded a lightning-fast version of the song on their 1998 all-covers album, ''Dogs from the Hare that Bit Us''. Garage/punk musician

Nobunny Nobunny was the stage persona of musician Justin Champlin, performing under the moniker since 2001. His debut LP, '' Love Visions'', was home recorded and released in 2008 on Bubbledumb Records to positive reviews. It was re-released with 1-2-3- ...

reworked it for his track "Nobunny Loves You". A

lip-sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

of the Human Beinz version was used in the

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Amer ...

of the first episode of the seventh season of the American TV series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'', " Nepotism", featuring all the characters of the show. A cover was featured in at least four television commercials: in a 1987

Friskies Friskies is an American brand of wet and dry cat food and treats owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, a subsidiary of Nestlé global. Friskies was initially introduced by Carnation Company in the 1930s as a dog food brand. When Friskies c ...

cat food commercial, where the line "like we do" was changed to "like Friskies"; in the mid to late 1980s for Mita Photocopiers and Idaho Potatoes (both with significantly altered lyrics); in the early 2010s for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

; and in the mid-2010s for the Dish Network. A parody of this was performed by the CBS Orchestra on ''

The Late Show With David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...

'' for the "Know Your Current Events" audience participation game (particularly the repeated "no" part, as the

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definiti ...

"know"). The Human Beinz version has been featured in many movies as well, such as when

Mike Sarne Michael Sarne (born Michael Scheuer; 6 August 1940) is a British actor, writer, producer and director, who also had a brief career as a pop singer in the 1960s. Sarne directed the films ''Joanna'' (1968) and ''Myra Breckinridge'' (1970). He h ...

sings it in the film ''

Seaside Swingers ''Every Day's a Holiday '' is a 1965 British musical film, musical comedy film directed by James Hill (British director), James Hill and starring John Leyton, Mike Sarne, Ron Moody, Grazina Frame, and Freddie and the Dreamers. Its plot involves a ...

'' (1965) under the title "Indubitably Me". It also appears in ''

Troop Beverly Hills ''Troop Beverly Hills'' is a 1989 American comedy film. It is produced by the Weintraub Entertainment Group and directed by Jeff Kanew, starring Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross, Stephanie Beacham and introducing Jenny Lewi ...

'', ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film '' Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Win ...

'' (when Billy gets into a brawl in a store), '' Recess: School's Out'' (as the students and teachers of Third Street School face off against Phillium Benedict and his henchmen), and ''

Kill Bill Vol. 1 ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as The Bride (Kill Bill), the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, ...

'' (when the Bride fights the Crazy 88s).

References

{{authority control 1963 songs 1963 singles 1967 singles The Isley Brothers songs George Thorogood songs Songs written by Ronald Isley Songs written by Rudolph Isley Songs written by O'Kelly Isley Jr. Song recordings produced by Bert Berns Songs about dancing Capitol Records singles Wand Records singles

The Isley Brothers

The Human Beinz

Other versions, uses, and appearances

See also

References