Bony Moronie

"Bony Moronie" was the third single by Larry Williams, released in 1957.

Original version

Williams' original peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the U.S. R&B chart. Since then the song has been covered many times.

Cover versions

Several early rock singers recorded their own versions of the song, notably Johnny Burnette, The Standells and Bill Haley. Dick Dale and his Deltones included a version on their 1965 album Rock Out With Dick Dale & His Del-Tones Live At Ciro's. Among others who have used the song are The Cyrkle on their 1966 debut album, Red Rubber Ball, Joni Mitchell during her 1970 concert in Amchitka for Greenpeace, pairing the song with Big Yellow Taxi in a medley. The Who included a 1971 live performance on their 1994 compilation Thirty Years of Maximum R&B; Dr. Feelgood included it on their 1974 album Down by the Jetty; Johnny Winter included it on his 1974 album "Saints and Sinners" and on his 1975 album 'Captured Live!; Showaddywaddy and Julie Covington recorded for the 1977 Amnesty International benefit show The Mermaid Frolics. In 1975, a cover of the song by Australian band Hush was a number one single on the Australian charts.

French and Spanish versions

Les Habits Jaunes made a French cover version entitled "Miss Boney Maronie" in 1965.

The song was translated into Spanish by Enrique Guzmán and Manny Martinez, who renamed it "Popotitos".

Originally released as a single in 1961 by Guzman's and Martinez's band Los Teen Tops, "Popotitos" was also covered by a wide range of Spanish-speaking artists such as Ricky Martin and Miguel Ríos. The song was recorded by Argentinian rock/pop group Serú Girán in 1982, which introduced "Popotitos" to younger generations, and made it a hit again across Latin America.

Rumoured Beatles versions

According to biographer Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles (first as The Quarrymen) regularly performed the song, from 1957 until 1961 with John Lennon on lead vocal,^[1] but there is no known recorded version. Lennon himself recorded it for his 1975 album, Rock 'n' Roll ("The Beatles Ultimate Recording Guide" by Allen J. Wiener, 1992, p. 136). Roy Young, who'd been asked to join The Beatles, recorded a single version in 1972 (liner notes CD set "Roy Young The Best of 50 Years"). Additionally three of Lennon's original Quarrymen cut a version during rehearsal in 1993 that came out on CD as The Quarry Men - The Rehearsal Tapes copyrighted and privately released in 2004 (only via website sales, now out of print).^[2]

In popular culture

• The song was featured, among others, in the 1980 film Up The Academy, and the 1983 movie Christine.
• Art Neville mentions "Bony Moronie" in "Let's Rock", a single he recorded for Specialty Records in 1958.
• James Taylor mentions the song in "Suite for 20 G", a song on his album Sweet Baby James.
• Cannibal & the Headhunters mention the song in their version of "Land of a Thousand Dances" .
• Wilson Pickett mentions the song in "Land of 1000 Dances", a song on his album The Exciting Wilson Pickett.
• Frankie Avalon mentions the song in his 1958 song "DeDe Dinah".
• Ritchie Valens mentions "Bony Moronie" in his song "Ooh! My Head", and also covers the song on his eponymous debut album.
• Ray Charles mentions the song in his cover of the song "Shake A Tail Feather."
• Echo and the Bunnymen mention "Bony Moronie" in their song "My Kingdom."
• Patti Smith mentions "Bony Moronie" in her song "Land" (1975): "Do you know how to pony like Bony Moronie".
• Chris Berman used to mention the song when Lawrence Maroney appeared in NFL highlights.
• The Fabulous Poodles mention "Bony Moronie" in their song "Anna Rexia. 1979"
• The Easybeats mention "Bony Moronie" in their song "Good Times."

Chart performance

• #4 (U.S. Billboard R&B)
• #14 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100)
• #45 (B-side (Billboard Hot 100))
• #11 UK Singles Chart^[3]

References