"The Girl Can't Help It" is the title song to the film ''

The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the lead role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenpla ...

'', with words and music by songwriter

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the composer of the rhythm and blues standard " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and for the role of D ...

. It was performed by

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

and was released in December 1956. In the US, the song peaked at No. 49 on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 singles chart and No. 7 on the R&B Best Sellers Chart. Overseas, "The Girl Can't Help It" peaked at No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart. It was ranked at No. 413 on ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Originally,

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

was lined up to record the track, which was not written as a rock song.

Cover versions and adaptations

The Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

covered it on both their US debut album ''

'' on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

and their UK debut album also called ''

'', on

Columbia (EMI) Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managem ...

in 1964. It was also covered in 1965 by

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

, in 1969 by the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage He ...

, in 1970 by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, in 1975 by

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

, and in 2001 by Babes in Toyland. The first single by UK band

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

, released in 1977, was a medley of " Daddy Cool" and "The Girl Can't Help It". American singer Fergie sampled the song for her 2007 single " Clumsy". It was also used in commercials for Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The advertising slogan was "You just can't help chewing". A gender-reversed version, "The Boy Can't Help It", appears on

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

's 1979 album '' The Glow''.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

repurposed the music, with new lyrics, to create their 1971 song "Are You Ready Eddy?", on their album ''

Tarkus ''Tarkus'' is the second studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 4 June 1971 on Island Records. Following their debut tour across Europe during the second half of 1970, the group paused touring commitme ...

''.

References

External links

The Girl Can't Help It
Little Richard

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

1956 songs 1956 singles Little Richard songs The Animals songs Songs written by Bobby Troup Specialty Records singles {{1950s-single-stub