"Solomon Grundy" is a song written by

Eric Allandale Eric Allandale (born Eric Allandale Dubuisson 4 March 1936 – 23 August 2001) was a trombonist, songwriter, and bandleader. Early life A native of Dominica, West Indies, he moved to the U.K. in 1954 to complete his education. He joined the H ...

, a member of the English

Multi-racial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

group

The Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band (m. 1967–1970). The group's background was: West Indian, White British, and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single " Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number e ...

. The song is loosely based on " Solomon Grundy", the 19th century children's nursery rhyme. It appeared on their 1969 ''Digging The Foundations'' album that featured the hit single "

In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me) "In The Bad Bad Old Days" was a hit for The Foundations in 1969. It was the fourth hit single for the group. It was written by Tony Macaulay and John McLeod. It went to #8 in the UK Singles Chart, #7 in Ireland, and #23 in Canada. It was also co ...

", and it was the B side of their minor American hit single "

My Little Chickadee ''My Little Chickadee'' is a 1940 American comedy-western film starring Mae West and W. C. Fields, featuring Joseph Calleia, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Willard Robertson, Dick Foran, William B. Davidson, and Addison Ri ...

". The singer pronounces it "Solomon Grandy" throughout the song, even though it foils the rhyme. It was also released as a single by

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

beat group Danny Diaz & The Checkmates and it was the song that first brought

Polly Brown Polly Brown (born 18 April 1947), also known as Polly Browne, is an English singer from Birmingham. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively " That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey ...

Pickettywitch Pickettywitch was a British pop group. Fronted by singer Polly Brown (also billed as Polly Browne), the group became best known for its hit single, "That Same Old Feeling", which was written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod. It reached numbe ...

to notice when they appeared on ITV's '' Opportunity Knocks'' television talent show. It was also the B side of Pickettywitch's 1969 debut single "You Got Me So I Don't Know".Geocities - Bad Cat Records

Single releases

* The Foundations - "My Little Chickadee" / "Solomon Grundy" - UNI 55137 - 1969 (USA) & PYE 4002 - 1970 (Canada) * Danny Diaz & The Checkmates - "Solomon Grundy" / "Goodbye Baby" PYE 7N 17690 - 1969 (UK) * Pickettywitch - "You've Got Me So I Don't Know" / "Solomon Grundy" PYE 7N 17799 (UK)

Compilation

* The Foundations, ''Baby, Now That I've Found You'' - Sequel Records - NEECD 300 - 1999 * The Foundations, ''Build Me Up Buttercup'' (The Complete Pye Collection) emastered- Castle - 2004 * Pickettywitch, ''That Same Old Feeling'' / The complete Recordings UK : 2001 Sanctuary CMRCD 265 (CD) * Pickettywitch / ''Pickettywitch'' + 13 Japan : 2001 Victor VICP-61439 (CD) * (Various Artists), ''Round The Gum Tree'' - The British Bubblegum Explosion! - Danny Diaz & The Checkmates - Castle Music - CMRCD 906 - 2004 (UK)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1969 songs The Foundations songs Pickettywitch songs Songs written by Eric Allandale