Written by: Lil Armstrong, Avon Long
Recorded: November 1977; January; February 1978
Producer: Vini Poncia
Engineer: Bob Schaper
Released: 21 April 1978 (UK), 16 June 1978 (US)
Available on:
Bad Boy
Personnel
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums
Lon Van Eaton, Jimmy Webb: electric guitar
Dr John: keyboards
Morris Lane: organ
Dee Murray: bass guitar
Vini Poncia: vocals
‘Bad Boy’ is the second song on Ringo Starr’s seventh solo album, 1978’s Ringo The 4th.
It was written by American jazz pianist and bandleader Lil Armstrong and actor and singer Avon Long. Originally titled ‘Brown Gal’, it was originally recorded by Armstrong for Decca Records in 1936, and subsequently recorded by artists including The Ink Spots and Bennie Calloway.
In December 1949 it was recorded by Clarence Palmer, lead singer of The Jive Bombers. Retitled ‘Brown Boy’, it was issued as a single in February 1950, credited to Al Sears and the Sparrows. They re-recorded the song in 1952, for which they were billed as Clarence Palmer and the Jive Bombers. A second re-recording was issued in December 1956, titled ‘Bad Boy’ and credited to The Jive Bombers.
The 1956 version was the group’s only charting single, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1957. ‘Bad Boy’ was subsequently covered by artists including The Escorts, Mink De Ville, Sha Na Na, and David Johansen.