| "A Certain Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK reissue single label | ||||
| Single byErnie K-Doe | ||||
| A-side | "I Cried My Last Tear" | |||
| Released | November 1961 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 2:42 | |||
| Label | Minit | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Naomi Nevillea.k.a.Allen Toussaint | |||
| Ernie K-Doe singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"A Certain Girl" is arhythm and blues song written byAllen Toussaint, with the credit listed under his pen name Naomi Neville. New Orleans R&B singerErnie K-Doe recorded it in 1961.Minit Records released the song as the B-side of "I Cried My Last Tear".
The single became a double-sided hit onBillboard magazine's Hot 100 record chart, with "A Certain Girl" reaching number 71 (and "I Cried My Last Tear" number 69) during on December 4, 1961.[1] Neither song appeared onBillboard'sHot R&B sides chart.
Over the years, K-Doe's original "A Certain Girl" has been included on several compilations[2] and a variety of musicians have recorded versions of the song.[3]
"A Certain Girl" was one of the first songs recorded by Englishrock bandthe Yardbirds. At the time, the group were a part of the earlyBritish rhythm and blues scene that produced bands such asthe Rolling Stones and drew their repertoire from Americanblues andrhythm and blues artists such asMuddy Waters,Howlin' Wolf, andBo Diddley.[4] They had heard K-Doe's song on aLondon Records compilation album featuringMinit Records R&B artists titledWe Sing the Blues (1963).[5]
WithEric Clapton on lead guitar, the Yardbirds first attempted a recording in January 1964 at theRG Jones Recording Studios, Surrey, England.[5] A 12-inch acetate demo (co-produced byMike Vernon) was pressed for anEMI audition[6] (released on the Yardbirds anthologiesTrain Kept A-Rollin' – The Complete Giorgio Gomelsky Productions (1993) andGlimpses 1963–1968 (2011)).
In March 1964, a second attempt was made atOlympic Studios in London that yielded the master recording. Produced by managerGiorgio Gomelsky, the song was planned as the A-side for the Yardbirds' first single; however, their version of "I Wish You Would" (recorded during the same session) was used instead, with "A Certain Girl" becoming the B-side.[7] The single was released by EMI subsidiaryColumbia Graphophone Company in May 1964.[8] In August,Epic Records released the single in the US, but it failed to chart (both songs were included on the Yardbirds' first Epic albumFor Your Love (1965)).[9]
Although "A Certain Girl" is a brief 2:15, Clapton manages a nearly half-minute guitar solo that Gomelsky describes as a "fat and fuzzy guitar riff".[10] Yardbirds biographer Alan Clayson compared it to "high-velocity flash ... his break has almost a separate life from the rest of the number."[11] Yardbirds drummerJim McCarty felt that the song was "too clean, too sparkling and it even had a hint of 'novelty song'" perhaps due to Gomelsky's production and the repeated "yeah" interjections.[12] In his autobiography, Clapton described the early recordings as sounding "pretty lame. We just sounded young and white ... I felt just that we were falling short of the mark in some way."[13] However, music journalistCub Koda was more indulging: "If you can get past theAndy Hardy backups, you have a pretty catchy ditty [that] must have caught the ears of Warren Zevon".[14] Future YardbirdJimmy Page provided the lead guitar for a 1964 version by English group the First Gear (included onJimmy Page: Session Man, Vol. 1 (1989)).[15]
Warren Zevon recorded "A Certain Girl" in 1980, withJackson Browne on backing vocals. Released as a single from his album,Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School,[16] it reached number 57 on the Hot 100[17] and number 57 on theCash Box Top 100.[18] In Canada, it reached number 61.[19]Record World called it a "a hot rocker" and said that "Waddy Wachtel provides the guitar sparks and the Jackson Browne/Rick Marotta chorus is cute & catchy."[20]
The 2002 re-release ofBetter Late Than Never, the 1996 debut album byThe Slackers, features a cover of the song as a previously unreleased bonus track.
The song's writerAllen Toussaint performed the song as a part of a medley of some of his hits in the 2005 documentary filmMake It Funky!. It presents a history ofNew Orleans music and its influence onrhythm and blues,rock and roll,funk andjazz.[21][22]
