Bony Moronie
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| "Bony Moronie" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Larry Williams | ||||
| B-side | "You Bug Me Baby" | |||
| Released | 1957 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Label | Specialty 615 (U.S.) London HLU 8532 (UK) |
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| Writer(s) | Larry Williams | |||
| Larry Williams singles chronology | ||||
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"Bony Moronie" is Larry Williams' third single, released in 1957. Williams' original peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the U.S. R&B chart.
Contents
Lyrical content
The singer claims that his eponymous girlfriend is "as skinny as a stick of macaroni." Similarly the lyrics of the Bill Haley song Skinny Minnie describes the girlfriend as being like "a fishing pole".
French and Spanish versions
Les Habits Jaunes made a French cover version entitled "Miss Boney Maronie" in 1965.
The song was translated into Spanish by Enrique Guzmán and Manny Martinez, who renamed it "Popotitos".
Originally released as a single in 1961 by Guzman's and Martinez's band Los Teen Tops, "Popotitos" was also covered by a wide range of Spanish-speaking artists such as Ricky Martin and Miguel Ríos. The song was recorded by Argentinian rock/pop group Serú Girán in 1982, which introduced "Popotitos" to younger generations, and made it a hit again across Latin America.
Beatles versions
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The song has been covered many times. According to biographer Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles (first as The Quarrymen) regularly performed the song, from 1957 until 1961 with John Lennon on lead vocal,[1] but there is no known recorded version. Lennon himself recorded it for his 1975 album, Rock 'n' Roll ("The Beatles Ultimate Recording Guide" by Allen J. Wiener, 1992, p. 136). Roy Young, who'd been asked to join The Beatles, recorded a single version in 1972 (liner notes CD set "Roy Young The Best of 50 Years"). Additionally three of Lennon's original Quarrymen cut a version during rehearsal in 1993 that came out on CD as The Quarry Men - The Rehearsal Tapes copyrighted and privately released in 2004 (only via website sales, now out of print) (http://johnozoroff.co.uk/whatsnew.htm#rehearsaltapes).
Cover versions
Several early rock singers also recorded the song, principally Johnny Burnette, The Standells and Bill Haley. Among others who have used the song are The Cyrkle on their 1966 debut album, Red Rubber Ball, Joni Mitchell as a medley with Big Yellow Taxi during her 1970 concert in Amchitka for Greenpeace.[clarification needed] The Who included a 1971 live performance on their 1994 compilation Thirty Years of Maximum R&B; Dr. Feelgood included it on their 1974 album Down by the Jetty; Johnny Winter included it on his 1974 album "Saints and Sinners" and on his 1975 album 'Captured Live!; Showaddywaddy and Julie Covington recorded for the 1977 Amnesty International benefit show The Mermaid Frolics. In 1975, a cover of the song by Australian band Hush was a number one single on the Australian charts.[citation needed]
In popular culture
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- The song was featured, among others, in the 1980 film Up The Academy, and the 1983 movie Christine.
- Art Neville mentions "Bony Moronie" in "Let's Rock", a single he recorded for Specialty Records in 1958.
- James Taylor mentions the song in "Suite for 20 G", a song on his album Sweet Baby James.
- Cannibal & the Headhunters mention the song in their version of "Land of a Thousand Dances" .
- Wilson Pickett mentions the song in "Land of 1000 Dances", a song on his album The Exciting Wilson Pickett.
- Frankie Avalon mentions the song in his 1958 song "DeDe Dinah".
- Ritchie Valens mentions "Bony Moronie" in his song "Ooh! My Head", and also covers the song on his eponymous debut album.
- Ray Charles mentions the song in his cover of he song "Shake A Tail Feather."
- Echo and the Bunnymen mention "Bony Moronie" in their song "My Kingdom."
- Patti Smith mentions "Bony Moronie" in her song "Land" (1975): "Do you know how to pony like Bony Moronie".
- Chris Berman used to mention the song when Lawrence Maroney appeared in NFL highlights.
Charts
- #4 (U.S. Billboard R&B)
- #14 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100)
- #45 (B-side (Billboard Hot 100))
- #11 UK Singles Chart[2]
References
- ↑ Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Chronicle p.362
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
