Dizzy, Miss Lizzy
| "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Larry Williams | ||||
| Released | March 1958 | |||
| Format | 7-inch single | |||
| Recorded | February 19, 1958 | |||
| Studio | Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:25 | |||
| Label | Specialty (626) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Larry Williams | |||
| Larry Williams singles chronology | ||||
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"Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is a rock and roll song written and recorded by Larry Williams in 1958. It became better known through a 1965 cover version by the Beatles. It was also sung by John Lennon in a performance by the Plastic Ono Band in 1969.
Williams' version
Williams recorded the song at Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood, California on February 19, 1958.
Personnel[1]
- Larry Williams – vocals, piano
- Earl Palmer – drums
- Rene Hall – guitar
- Howard Roberts – guitar
- Ted Brinson – Bass guitar
- Plas Johnson – tenor sax
- Jewell Grant – baritone sax
The Beatles rendition
| "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Beatles | |
| Released |
|
| Recorded | May 10, 1965 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Rock and roll |
| Length | 2:54 |
| Label |
|
| Songwriter(s) | Larry Williams |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
The song has been covered many times, including by the Beatles in 1965, included on the UK album Help! and the US album Beatles VI. They recorded it along with the Larry Williams cover, "Bad Boy", on the same day. Paul McCartney has stated that he believes this song to be one of the Beatles' best recordings. It features loud, rhythmic instrumentation, along with John Lennon's rousing vocals.
Ian MacDonald criticised the song as "an unprepossessing shambles of ersatz hysteria and jumbled double-tracking", saying it was "little better" than Williams' "drab twelve-bar boogie" original.[2]
"Dizzy Miss Lizzy" also appeared in a live solo version by Lennon on the Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
The Beatles personnel
In Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald lists the following:[2]
- George Harrison – double-tracked lead guitar
- John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, rhythm guitar, Hammond organ
- Paul McCartney – bass, electric piano
- Ringo Starr – drums, cowbell
References
- ↑ Larry Williams: Bad Boy The Legends of Specialty Records, Speciality Records 1989, liner notes
- 1 2 MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). p. 154. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.