(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post)
Manfred Mann - "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"
Hit Number 1: October 17, 1964
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
The British Invasion didn't always bring amazing bangers along with it. There would sometimes be songs that would hit #1 in this time span that I have to think were almost "accidents". If you guys are at all familiar with the movie "Stripes" you would know that the military cadence they use in it is a pretty dumb song that chants "do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do". You guessed it! That song is today's entry, and the version that became an international hit, making the #1 spot here and in England, and charting fairly high in other countries, was a cover of the Exciters' original by Manfred Mann. (the actual Manfred Mann played keyboards for the group) It apparently also hit #1 in Canada and even Sweden, making the case of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" even more strange.
This has to be one of the stupidest songs that I've covered in this blog so far. The song is about a girl walking down the street singing "do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do". The narrator of the song thinks she's good-looking, and eventually they get together and apparently get engaged. They'll live the rest of their lives singing that ridiculous chant. However, there is a case to be made that the song isn't BAD, it's just enormously stupid. Sometimes stupid is a an okay thing. The way that the band's lead singer Paul Jones delivers the song is very lighthearted and dare I say fun. That makes it pretty hard to hate the song, despite it's stupid nature. Mann plays some cheesy keyboard notes, and the drum pattern in it (probably the song's strongest feature) is actually a great backbone for the song. To sum it all up, Manfred Mann took a really stupid song, and covered it about as well as they possibly could, turning it into an okay little bop of a song. And that chant in it is extremely memorable to; it's impossible to forget. I got to commend them for that.
GRADE: 7/10
JUST MISSED:
One of the 60s' most successful girl groups Martha & the Vandellas had their highest charting single hit #2 behind "Do Wah Diddy Diddy". It's the pretty fun and numerously covered jam "Dancing In the Street". It's an 8.
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