LAWDY MISS CLAWDY
LLOYD PRICE
LLOYD PRICE
Written by: Price
Recorded by: Lloyd Price 1952
Recorded by: Lloyd Price 1952
LLOYD PRICE WAS STILL a teenager
when he wrote and recorded ‘Lawdy
Miss Clawdy’ for the Specialty label.
Specialty was a Californian outfit and yet between
them Lloyd Price and Little Richard were to
give it strong New Orleans associations in the
founding years of rock ’n’ roll. Price came from
an R&B background but ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’
somehow caught the imagination of burgeoning
rock fans and was to have many cover versions
including famous ones by Little Richard and Elvis
Presley. Although The Beatles would certainly
have known the Elvis version there is good reason
to suppose they had access to the original Lloyd
Price single since its relatively unknown B-side
song (‘Mailman Blues’) also featured in The
Quarrymen’s repertoire. ‘Mailman Blues’ was a
straight boogie but ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ was a
when he wrote and recorded ‘Lawdy
Miss Clawdy’ for the Specialty label.
Specialty was a Californian outfit and yet between
them Lloyd Price and Little Richard were to
give it strong New Orleans associations in the
founding years of rock ’n’ roll. Price came from
an R&B background but ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’
somehow caught the imagination of burgeoning
rock fans and was to have many cover versions
including famous ones by Little Richard and Elvis
Presley. Although The Beatles would certainly
have known the Elvis version there is good reason
to suppose they had access to the original Lloyd
Price single since its relatively unknown B-side
song (‘Mailman Blues’) also featured in The
Quarrymen’s repertoire. ‘Mailman Blues’ was a
straight boogie but ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ was a
seductively rolling New Orleans number much
enhanced by the rippling piano fills of Antoine
‘Fats’ Domino and Price’s gritty yet melodic vocal
delivery. Lloyd Price would go on to rack up
several subsequent hits although not until after
a stint of military service in Korea had brought
to an end his first taste of fame with Specialty.
Afterwards he co-founded KRC records and
proceeded to make the charts with ‘Stagger
Lee’, ‘Personality’ and ‘I’m Gonna Get Married’.
Later still he joined the ABC label. In 1988 Paul
McCartney included ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ on
his Back In The USSR album of rock oldies, and
by then it was part of the general folk memory of
rock ’n’ roll as well as a fondly remembered staple
of The Beatles’ early sets. In pleasing contrast to
the life stories of so many rock pioneers, Lloyd
Price went on to become a successful businessman
and the occasional good-natured participant in
nostalgia music shows. He was inducted into
‘The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame’ in 1998.
enhanced by the rippling piano fills of Antoine
‘Fats’ Domino and Price’s gritty yet melodic vocal
delivery. Lloyd Price would go on to rack up
several subsequent hits although not until after
a stint of military service in Korea had brought
to an end his first taste of fame with Specialty.
Afterwards he co-founded KRC records and
proceeded to make the charts with ‘Stagger
Lee’, ‘Personality’ and ‘I’m Gonna Get Married’.
Later still he joined the ABC label. In 1988 Paul
McCartney included ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ on
his Back In The USSR album of rock oldies, and
by then it was part of the general folk memory of
rock ’n’ roll as well as a fondly remembered staple
of The Beatles’ early sets. In pleasing contrast to
the life stories of so many rock pioneers, Lloyd
Price went on to become a successful businessman
and the occasional good-natured participant in
nostalgia music shows. He was inducted into
‘The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame’ in 1998.
The young Lloyd Price still had no bandwhen it was time to record ‘Lawdy Miss
Clawdy’. New Orleans musician Dave
Bartholomew stepped in to do the
arrangements and loan Price his own band
which included Fats Domino on piano.
It wasn’t until 1959 that Lloyd Price builta fan base with a trio of memorable hits:
‘Stagger Lee’, Personality’and ‘I’m Gonna
Get Married’. By then he had already con
firmed his rock reputation with the classic
‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’back in 1952 before the
Korean war interrupted his career.