"Wang Dang Doodle" is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

song written by

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

in 1961. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for

Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded ...

, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart. "Wang Dang Doodle" became a blues standard and has been recorded by various artists.

Composition and lyrics

"Wang Dang Doodle" was composed by Willie Dixon during the second part of his songwriting career, from 1959 to 1964. During this period, he wrote many of his best-known songs, including " Back Door Man", " Spoonful", "The Red Rooster" (better-known as " Little Red Rooster"), " I Ain't Superstitious", " You Shook Me", "You Need Love" (adapted by Led Zeppelin for " Whole Lotta Love"), and " You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". In his autobiography, Dixon explained that the phrase "wang dang doodle" "meant a good time, especially if the guy came in from the South. A wang dang meant having a ball and a lot of dancing, they called it a rocking style so that's what it meant to wang dang doodle". Mike Rowe claimed that Dixon's song is based on "an old lesbian song" – "The Bull Daggers Ball" – with "its catalogue of low-life characters only marginally less colurful that the original". Dixon claimed that he wrote it when he first heard Howlin' Wolf in 1951 or 1952 but that it was "too far in advance" for him and he saved it for later. However, Wolf supposedly hated the song and commented, "Man, that's too old-timey, sound like some old levee camp number": Howlin' Wolf recorded the song in June 1960 in Chicago during the same sessions that produced "Back Door Man" and "Spoonful". Backing Howlin' Wolf on vocals are

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

on piano, Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums.

Freddy King Freddy or Freddie may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 *Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series''Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1960 ...

has been identified as possibly a second guitarist. In 1961, Chess issued the song as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "Back Door Man"; neither song appeared on the record charts. Both songs are included on Howlin' Wolf's popular 1962 compilation album '' Howlin' Wolf'', also called ''The Rockin' Chair Album'', and many subsequent compilations. He later re-recorded it with some rock musicians for '' The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions'' (1971).

Koko Taylor version

On June 30, 1964, Willie Dixon brought Koko Taylor to

, where she recorded "What Kind of Man Is That?". During her next session, on December 7, 1965, she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle". Backing vocalist Taylor were Gene Barge and Donald Hawkins on saxophones, Lafayette Leake on piano, Buddy Guy and Johnny "Twist" Williams on guitars, Jack Meyers on bass guitar, Fred Below on drums, and Willie Dixon singing with Taylor. Her version was released in early 1966 and peaked at number four on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's R&B singles chart and number 58 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

Recognition and legacy

In 1995, Taylor's rendition was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recording – Singles or Album Tracks" category. The Foundation noted that the song was the last blues single produced by Dixon to reach the record charts, and "became Koko Taylor's signature crowdpleaser, inspiring singalongs to the 'all night long' refrain night after night". Chuck Berry, Bruce Hornsby, John Popper,

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and Willie Dixon's daughter, Shirley Dixon, performed "Wang Dang Doodle" in tribute to Willie Dixon at the 1994 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Love Sculpture recorded a version for their 1968 album ''Blues Helping''. An AllMusic album review noted "what makes this album worthwhile is the revved-up guitar playing, especially when Edmunds shreds both

's '

The Stumble "The Stumble" is a blues guitar instrumental composed and recorded by American blues artist Freddie King, for his 1961 album '' Let's Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King''. It is considered a blues classic and follows in a string of popu ...

' and Willie Dixon's 'Wang Dang Doodle'". In 1971, a version by Savoy Brown was recorded for their album '' Street Corner Talking''. It was the group's first album after a nearly complete lineup change and their rendition was described in an album review as one of the "solid examples of the group's blues-rock power... a slick cover". The Pointer Sisters' version of "Wang Dang Doodle" was released as the follow-up single to " Yes We Can Can" and was included on their 1973 self-titled debut album. The single peaked at number 24 on ''Billboard''s Hot Soul Singles and number 61 on its

charts.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Authority control 1960 songs Songs written by Willie Dixon 1961 singles Soul songs Howlin' Wolf songs Chess Records singles 1966 singles Blues songs 1977 singles The Pointer Sisters songs Blue Thumb Records singles Willie Dixon songs