Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy / Who Do You Think You're Fooling?

Rock

Blues Rock

1966

"Diddy Wah Diddy" marked the beginning of the period referred to as "The A&M Sessions" in the history of the "Magic Band". Mentored by Leonard Grant, whom they'd met via their associations with Dorothy Heard at the 1965 'Teenage Fair', the band were signed by Grant to the Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss label A&M at the end of that year.

This first official mono single, a cover of a popular Ellas McDaniel* number, was recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California in January 1966. Its young producer David Gates, who would later have hits with his own band "Bread", had a strong influence over the proceedings - such as feeding Handley's bass direct through the console to control that deep 'Bo Diddley' sound. He also played the overdubbed harpsichord and did his best to 'shape' the band into a 'hit single mode' for Quintus Productions Inc.

Vliet, now fully adopting his 'Captain Beefheart' persona gained during the earlier 'Battle Of The Bands' period, sings and plays harmonica. Prior to recording Mortensen had been called-up to serve in Vietnam, so Paul 'PG' Blakely was drafted back in on drums. Alex Snouffer and Doug Moon are on guitar, although by this time Vliet had already set his sights on Rich Hepner as a future replacement for the unsuspecting Moon. The single, with the Vliet-penned "Who Do You Think You're Fooling?" on the flipside, was released in March 1966. Thanks to strong air-plays by DJ "Wolfman Jack" it made quite a dent in the regional charts of Southern California. However, that's when a 'twist ah luck' played its fateful hand.

A slicker, well-established band from Boston, led by Barry Tashian and called "The Remains" had already released "Diddy Wah Diddy" as a single (Epic 5-10001). Having already helped launch Andy Warhol's in-crowd hang-out the Ondine** discotheque in New York and put in appearances on TV's 'Ed Sullivan Show' and 'Hulabaloo' this band's single gained greater popularity in the East Coast charts. It finally blew the "Magic Band" release away when "The Remains" opened for The Beatles' 1966 US Tour. This was probably one of the factors which caused A&M to finally drop "The Magic Band" as 'uncommercial'. A severance that finally gave birth to the seminal Buddah album release of "Safe As Milk" by "The Magic Band".

*"Diddy Wah Diddy" was popularized by Ellas McDaniel, aka Bo Diddley. The song was written for him by Willie Dixon and arranged by McDaniel. The Magic Band recording has, in its history, incorrectly credited the song to "A. Chistensen". The blues roots of the song probably originated from Blind Blake's "Diddie Wa Diddie" (1928) and the expression can be found in pop hits like Manfred Mann's "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (1964).
**Ondine, like The Avalon Ballroom, The Fillmore East and Fillmore West, was a launch-pad for many bands. A residency for Jimmy James (Hendrix), The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, etc., it was also a popular NY venue for many visiting UK bands in the late '60s.