"Bad Boy" is a song written and recorded by American R&B musician Larry Williams. Specialty Records released it as a single in 1958, but it failed to reach the U.S. Billboard charts. However, music journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls it one of Williams's "genuine rock & roll classics" and notes its popularity among 1960s British Invasion groups, such as the Beatles.^[2]

Original song[edit]

Williams was among the early rhythm and blues artists to adapt his style to the new rock and roll sound.^[3] The lyrics reflect a teenage sensibility: "He's a guy who causes trouble in the classroom, puts chewing gum in little girls' hair, and doesn't want to go to school to learn to read and write", according to critic Richie Unterberger.^[3] Musically, he calls it:

rather conventional if energetic early rock'n'roll, sounding like a more pop-oriented Little Richard, as Williams was wont to do. He made it more effective than a common generic early rock'n'roll tune, however, with some start-stop tempos, devious blues-rock guitar, spoken comic "he's a ... bad boy" interjections after lines in the verse, and exaggerated whoops and, most memorably, falsetto commands "Now Junior, behave yourself!".^[3]

Music writer Gene Sculatti compares it to Williams's earlier song "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy", but with backup vocals more like the Coasters "Charlie Brown" and the Everly Brothers "Bird Dog", both Billboard chart hits.^[4]

Personnel[edit]

The song was recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on August 14, 1958, by:^[4]

Larry Williams – vocals, piano
René Hall – guitar
Ted Brinson – bass
Earl Palmer – drums
Jewell Grant – baritone sax
Plas Johnson – tenor sax

The Beatles version[edit]

"Bad Boy"
Sheet music cover
Songbythe Beatles
Released	June 14, 1965 (1965-06-14) (US) December 10, 1966 (1966-12-10) (UK)
Recorded	May 10, 1965
Studio	EMI, London
Genre	Rock and roll^[5]
Length	2:21
Label	Capitol (US) Parlophone (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Larry Williams
Producer(s)	George Martin

"Bad Boy" is one of several Larry Williams songs the English rock band the Beatles recorded during their career. They recorded it on May 10, 1965, (Williams' birthday), along with Williams' "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy," and it was originally intended solely for release in North America. "Bad Boy" was first released on the American album Beatles VI in June 1965, while "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" appeared on the British Help! album in August of that year. "Bad Boy" was eventually released in the UK on the compilation album A Collection of Beatles Oldies, in December 1966;^[6] it was later released worldwide on the 1988 compilation album Past Masters, Volume One, as well as its 2009 reissue, Past Masters, which combines both volumes.

The song was released as the title track of an EP in Sweden together with "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", "I'm Looking Through You" and "In My Life". This EP sold so well that "Bad Boy" reached numbers seven on the country's sales chart, Kvällstoppen and five on the radio chart Tio i Topp in December 1966.^[7]^[8]

Personnel[edit]

Personnel per Ian MacDonald^[9]

John Lennon – vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney – bass, electric piano
George Harrison – double-tracked lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

References[edit]

^ "Larry Williams – Bad BOy". Billboard. January 26, 1959. p. 48.

^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Larry Williams – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

^ ^a ^b ^c Unterberger, Richie. "Larry Williams: 'Bad Boy' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 24, 2020.

^ ^a ^b Sculatti, Gene (1989). Larry Williams: Bad Boy (Album notes). Larry Williams. Specialty Records. pp. 2, 7. SPCD 7002.

^ Frontani, Michael (2009). The Beatles: Image and the Media. p. 114. ISBN 978-1604731569.

^ Miles, Barry (2009). The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years. London: Omnibus Press. eBook. ISBN 978-0-85712-000-7.

^ Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. ISBN 978-9163021404.

^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium. ISBN 919727125X.

^ MacDonald, Ian (2008). Revolution in the head : the Beatles' records and the sixties. Internet Archive. London : Vintage. ISBN 978-0-09-952679-7.