According to Standells keyboardist Larry Tamblyn, at least some of the song (notably the references to "lovers and thieves") was inspired by a mugging of Cobb in Boston.[7] In addition to the river, other local interest items in the song include the Boston University women's curfew—"Frustrated women ... have to be in by 12 o'clock"—and a passing mention of the Boston Strangler—"have you heard about the Strangler? (I'm the man I'm the man)."
First issued in late 1965 on the Tower label, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, the song debuted April 30, 1966 on the Cash Box charts and peaked at No.8. It reached No.11 on the Billboard singles charts on June 11. It was the band's first major hit single; their earlier charting record, "The Boy Next Door", had only reached No.102 on Billboard'sBubbling Under chart in February 1966.
Although "Dirty Water" is beloved by the city of Boston and its sports fans, the song first became a hit in the state of Florida, breaking out on WLOFinOrlando in January 1966.[citation needed]
Dirty Water was also the title of the Standells' most successful LP, their only nationally charting album. This LP charted on both Billboard and Cash Box magazines' charts, peaking at No.52 and No.39, respectively, during the summer of 1966.
The song is traditionally played by Boston sports teams following home victories. The National Hockey League's Boston Bruins began playing it in 1995,[8] and Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox followed suit after home victories beginning in the 1997 season.[9] The surviving Standells have performed the song at Fenway Park from atop the Green Monster. The famous guitar riff was recorded with a Fender Telecaster through a Vox AC30 amplifier by Standells guitarist Tony Valentino. The song is also included in the soundtrack for the film Fever Pitch, which includes the Boston Red Sox leading up to the 2004 World Series.
Though the song is credited solely to Cobb, band members Dodd, Valentino, and Tamblyn have claimed substantial material-of-fact song composition copyright contributions to it as well as contributing to its arrangement.[citation needed]
Britishgarage rock revivalists The Inmates covered "Dirty Water" in 1979 (and replaced Boston and the Charles with London and the River Thames), a version which was a moderate hit and reached #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1980.[12] This song was promoted with customized promo versions recorded for many towns distributed to radio stations. For example, the promo copy played on Jackson, Mississippi's WZZQ said "Pearl River" and "Jackson you're my home".
The song is sampled at the beginning of "These Are the Days", the first track on the Ducky Boys' 1998 album Dark Days.
The Buffalo Sabres NHL team plays a cover version of this song before the beginning of the third period. This version substitutes River Charles with Niagara River, and Boston is replaced with Buffalo.
"Weird Al" Yankovic covered the song during his March 4, 2018 evening show at The Wilbur Theater in Boston.
Pearl Jam covered the song during their September 4, 2018 show at Fenway Park in Boston.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have covered the song on multiple occasions while playing in Boston, most recently during their March 20, 2023 show at the TD Garden.
