Grateful Dead

The Muddy Waters song "Mannish Boy" is almost identical to the Bo Diddley song "I'm A Man". Bo Diddley had a chart success with this in 1955, and it seems that Chess decided to cash in by releasing a similar record. Otis Span played organ on both the original Bo Diddley recording and with Muddy Waters on the subsequent Chess recording. At the time, Bo Diddley did not seem to object - he was given a shared writing credit ("Morganfield" is Muddy Waters real name, and "McDaniel" is Bo Diddley's). But Bo Diddley later claimed sole authorship. I have left the title as "Mannish Boy" to avoid confusion with the Spencer Davis song I'm A Man. The Dead did this with Bo Diddley singing lead on 25 March 1972, and did a portion during Lovelight on 15 December 1971: When I was a little boy About the age of five I had something in my pocket Keep a lots of woman alive Now I'm a man Done made twenty one I tell you darling I'm the son of a gun I'm a man I spell M A N, man