| "Wang Dang Doodle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byHowlin' Wolf | ||||
| from the albumHowlin' Wolf | ||||
| B-side | "Back Door Man" | |||
| Released | 1961 (1961) | |||
| Recorded | 1960 | |||
| Studio | Chess, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | Chess | |||
| Songwriter | Willie Dixon | |||
| Producers |
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| Howlin' Wolf singles chronology | ||||
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"Wang Dang Doodle" is ablues song written byWillie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat.[1] It was first recorded byHowlin' Wolf in 1960 and released byChess Records in 1961. In 1965, Dixon andLeonard Chess persuadedKoko Taylor to record it forChecker Records, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on theBillboard R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart.[2] "Wang Dang Doodle" became ablues standard[3] and has been recorded by various artists. Taylor's version was added to the United StatesNational Recording Registry in 2023.[4]
"Wang Dang Doodle" was composed by Willie Dixon during the second part of his songwriting career, from 1959 to 1964.[5] During this period, he wrote many of his best-known songs, including "Back Door Man", "Spoonful", "The Red Rooster" (better-known as "Little Red Rooster"), "I Ain't Superstitious", "You Shook Me", "You Need Love" (adapted byLed Zeppelin for "Whole Lotta Love"), and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover".[5] In his autobiography, Dixon explained that the phrase "wang dang doodle" "meant a good time, especially if the guy came in from the South. A wang dang meant having a ball and a lot of dancing, they called it a rocking style so that's what it meant to wang dang doodle".[5] Mike Rowe claimed that Dixon's song is based on "an old lesbian song" – "The Bull Daggers Ball" – with "its catalogue of low-life characters only marginally less colourful that the original".[6] Dixon claimed that he wrote it when he first heard Howlin' Wolf in 1951 or 1952 but that it was "too far in advance" for him and he saved it for later.[7] However, Wolf supposedly hated the song and commented, "Man, that's too old-timey, sound[s] like some oldlevee camp number":[8]
Tell Automatic slim, to tell razor totin' Jim
To tell butcher knife totin' Annie, to tell fast talkin' Fannie ...
We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long[9]
Howlin' Wolf recorded the song in June 1960 in Chicago during the same sessions that produced "Back Door Man" and "Spoonful".[10] Backing Howlin' Wolf on vocals areOtis Spann on piano,Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Dixon on bass, andFred Below on drums.[10]Freddy King has been identified as possibly a second guitarist.[10] In 1961, Chess issued the song as theB-side to "Back Door Man"; neither song appeared on the record charts.[11] Both songs are included on Howlin' Wolf's popular 1962 compilation albumHowlin' Wolf, also calledThe Rockin' Chair Album,[12] and many subsequent compilations. He later re-recorded it with Sumlin (rhythm guitar),Jeffrey Carp (harmonica),Eric Clapton (lead guitar),Ian Stewart (piano),Bill Wyman (bass) andCharlie Watts (drums) forThe London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (1971).[13] The re-recording is at a slower tempo than both the original and the Koko Taylor hit version and includes a new guitar riff not heard in those earlier versions.
On June 30, 1964, Willie Dixon broughtKoko Taylor toChess Records, where she recorded "What Kind of Man Is That?". During her next session, on December 7, 1965, she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle". Backing vocalist Taylor wereGene Barge and Donald Hawkins on saxophones,Lafayette Leake on piano,Buddy Guy and Johnny "Twist" Williams on guitars, Jack Meyers on bass guitar, Fred Below on drums, and Willie Dixon singing with Taylor.[14] Her version was released in early 1966 and peaked at number four onBillboard magazine'sR&B singles chart and number 58 on theHot 100.[2]
In 1995, Taylor's rendition was inducted into theBlues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recording – Singles or Album Tracks" category.[15] The Foundation noted that the song was the last blues single produced by Dixon to reach the record charts, and "became Koko Taylor's signature crowdpleaser, inspiring singalongs to the 'all night long' refrain night after night".[15]
Taylor's version of "Wang Dang Doodle" was selected by theLibrary of Congress for preservation in theNational Recording Registry in 2023.[16]
Chuck Berry,Bruce Hornsby,John Popper,Bob Weir of theGrateful Dead and Willie Dixon's daughter, Shirley Dixon, performed "Wang Dang Doodle" in tribute to Willie Dixon at the 1994Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.[17]
Love Sculpture recorded a version for their 1968 albumBlues Helping. AnAllMusic album review noted "what makes this album worthwhile is the revved-up guitar playing, especially when Edmunds shreds bothFreddy King's 'The Stumble' and Willie Dixon's 'Wang Dang Doodle'".[18]
In 1971, a version bySavoy Brown was recorded for their albumStreet Corner Talking. It was the group's first album after a nearly complete lineup change and their rendition was described in an album review as one of the "solid examples of the group's blues-rock power ... a slick cover".[19]
The Pointer Sisters' version of "Wang Dang Doodle" was released as the follow-up single to "Yes We Can Can" and was included on their 1973self-titled debut album. The single peaked at number 24 onBillboard'sHot Soul Singles and number 61 on itsHot 100 charts.[20]
FilmmakerRyan Coogler stated the song was an influence on his 2025 filmSinners. The song was additionally covered for the soundtrack.[21]
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