| "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byLarry Williams | ||||
| B-side | "Slow Down" | |||
| Released | March 1958 (1958-03) | |||
| Recorded | February 19, 1958 | |||
| Studio | Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:25 | |||
| Label | Specialty | |||
| Songwriter | Larry Williams | |||
| Larry Williams singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" is arock and roll song written and recorded byLarry Williams in 1958. Although identified as a "genuine rock & roll classic",[1] it had limited success on the record charts. Seven years later,the Beatles recorded the song, andJohn Lennon performed it with thePlastic Ono Band in 1969.
At the end of 1957, Williams scored with one of his biggest hits, "Bony Moronie". On February 19, 1958, he entered theRadio Recorders studio in Hollywood, California, to record a potential follow-up.[2] He was again backed by some well-known session musicians, includingRené Hall, who is credited as the band leader and with supplying the distinctive guitar riff. However, it is Williams' vocal that makes the song stand out, according to music journalistGene Sculatti, "at ease with its own intensity [that is] finally out of Richard's shadow."[2] (Little Richard and Williams were both signed toSpecialty Records).
Specialty released "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" in both the78 rpm and newer45 rpm record formats. Williams had several completed recordings to choose from for theB-side, but the label decided to go with "Slow Down", a track he had recorded at the same September 11, 1957, session that produced "Bony Moronie".[2] Both sides received notices inBillboard magazine, but only "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" reached the "Top 100 Sides" chart. It peaked at number 69 during the week ending April 19, 1958.[3] Both songs were included on Williams's first album, the Specialty compilationHere's Larry Williams (1959).[4]
| "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" | |
|---|---|
 Netherlands picture sleeve | |
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| Released |
|
| Recorded | May 10, 1965 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Rock and roll |
| Length | 2:54 |
| Label |
|
| Songwriter | Larry Williams |
| Producer | George Martin |
In 1965,the Beatles recorded "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" in response to requests fromCapitol Records (their US record label) for new material. The song, recorded the previous year by another Liverpool group The Escorts, is included on the UK albumHelp! and the US albumBeatles VI. They recorded it along with another Williams tune, "Bad Boy", on the same day.[5]
Group biographerIan MacDonald describes the song as "an unprepossessing shambles ofersatz hysteria and jumbled double-tracking".[5] However,AllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine comments "'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' gives John an opportunity to flex his rock & roll muscle."[6]
Lennon later recorded "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" at a performance at theToronto Rock and Roll Revival on September 13, 1969. The song is included on thePlastic Ono Band albumLive Peace in Toronto 1969.[7]
InRevolution in the Head, MacDonald lists the following:[5]
