"I'm a Man" is a rhythm and blues song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. Inspired by an earlier blues song, it was one of his first hits. "I'm a Man" has been recorded by a variety of artists, including the Yardbirds, who adapted it in an upbeat rock style.
Bo Diddley song
"I'm a Man" was one of the first songs Bo Diddley recorded for Checker Records. Unlike his self-titled "Bo Diddley" that was recorded the same day, "I'm a Man" does not use the Bo Diddley beat. Rather, it was inspired by Muddy Waters' 1954 song "Hoochie Coochie Man", written by Willie Dixon. After Diddley's release, Waters recorded an "answer song" to "I'm a Man" in May 1955, titled "Mannish Boy", a play on words on Bo Diddley's younger age as it related to the primary theme of the song. In a Rolling Stone magazine interview, Bo Diddley recounts that the song took a long time to record because of confusion regarding the timing of the "M ... A ... N" vocal chorus. There are conflicting accounts regarding the instrumental backing musicians for the song. Reissues of Bo Diddley's first album, Bo Diddley, list them as: Bo Diddley on vocals and guitar, Frank Kirkland on drums, Jerome Green on maracas, Lester Davenport on harmonica, and either Otis Spann or Henry Gray on piano. However, the song has also been identified as Chicago harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold's first contribution to a Checker recording. Arnold later played harmonica on several Bo Diddley songs. "I'm a Man" was released as the B-side of Bo Diddley's first single in April 1955. The single became a two-sided hit and reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart. The song is included on several of his compilation albums, including Bo Diddley and His Best. He also recorded it with Muddy Waters and Little Walter for the 1967 Super Blues album.
English rock band the Yardbirds recorded a live version of "I'm a Man" for their first UK album Five Live Yardbirds with Eric Clapton in 1964, that was later included on their second American album Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds. In 1965 during their first American tour, the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck on guitar, recorded a studio version of "I'm a Man", that is also included on Having a Rave Up. Their versions feature their signature "rave-up" arrangement, when the beat shifts into double time and the instrumentation builds to a crescendo. Beck added a "scratch-picking" technique to produce a percussive effect during the song's instrumental section, which critic Cub Koda notes "provides the climax on the studio version of 'I'm a Man', perhaps the most famous Yardbirds rave-up of all". Recording took place at the Chess Studios in Chicago, with additional recording at the Columbia Studios in New York. It was released as a single and later included on their 1965 Epic Records album Having a Rave Up. The Yardbirds' version peaked at number 17 on the BillboardHot 100 in 1965. The song was later released in the UK in 1976. Diddley praised their cover as "beautiful" and it has been called "a defining moment for the band". In addition to the 1964 live version with Clapton, other live versions include those with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
Recognition
Bo Diddley's original "I'm a Man" is ranked number 369 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2012, the song along with the self-named A-side song "Bo Diddley" was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" American sound recordings. In 2018, "I'm a Man" was inducted into the Blues Foundation Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording".
