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I Wish You Would (Billy Boy Arnold song)
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Wikipedia article
"'I Wish You Would'" is a song recorded by Chicago blues musician Billy Boy Arnold in 1955. It was developed while Arnold was performing with Bo Diddley and incorporates a Diddley-style rhythm. Called "a timeless Chicago blues classic", "I Wish You Would" is Arnold's best-known song and has been recorded by several artists, including the Yardbirds, who recorded it for their debut single in 1964.
Original song
"I Wish You Would" was developed from "Diddy Diddy Dum Dum", a song Billy Boy Arnold wrote and sang with Bo Diddley. Leonard Chess, the owner/producer of Diddley's record label, Checker Records, planned to record the song as Diddley's second single. However, Arnold heard that Chess did not like him, so he took the song to Chess' rival, Vee-Jay Records. Vee-Jay suggested that he change the lyrics, so Arnold came up with "I Wish You Would".
The song features a one-chord modal blues structure with a repeating guitar figure and Diddley-style rhythm. Backing Arnold (vocal and harmonica) are Jody Williams (guitar), Milton Rector (bass), and Earl Phillips (drums). The single, credited to "Billy Boy", reportedly sold well, but did not appear in the national record charts. Arnold revisited "I Wish You Would" several times during his career, producing new studio versions and live versions of the song for a variety of record labels.
Arnold later commented that because of "I Wish You Would" he was unfairly labeled as a Bo Diddley stylist:
The Yardbirds versions
English rock band the Yardbirds recorded "I Wish You Would" for their debut single in 1964. Recorded at Olympic Studios in London in March 1964, it lacks the Bo Diddley-style beat and is considerably shorter than live versions performed by the Yardbirds around this time.
Columbia UK issued the song, with "A Certain Girl" as the B-side, for the group's debut single on May 1, 1964, with Epic US following on August 17, 1964. The single did not enter the main record charts in the UK or US, but was later released on the Yardbirds' first American album, 'For Your Love', which reached number 96 on 'Billboard's' Top LPs chart in 1965.
Several live versions of "I Wish You Would" were recorded by the Yardbirds, which were later released. A version from 1963 with Eric Clapton was released on 'London 1963 The First Recordings!' (1981); a 1965 recording by the BBC with Jeff Beck was released on 'Yardbirds ... On Air' (1991); and a 1968 version with Jimmy Page appears on 'Last Rave-Up in LA'.
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Category:1955 songs
Category:1955 singles
Category:1964 debut singles
Category:The Yardbirds songs
Category:Blues songs
Category:Vee-Jay Records singles
Category:Columbia Graphophone Company singles
Category:Epic Records singles
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