"...I know it can't be me...": Examining Lawdy Miss Clawdy

[SteamrollerBlues]

As this is my first time creating a topic like this, I ask you all to bear with me. Most of this information may be well-known and not new to anyone here, but I think it's good to take a step back and appreciate Elvis' great 1950s recordings, free of (I'm going to regret saying this aren't I?) Jarvis-related arguments and discussions. Now then, on to the music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawdy_Miss_Clawdy
Lawdy Miss Clawdy was first cut in 1952 by R&B great Llyod Price. It was recorded with Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew during his first session for Art Rupe and Specialty Records. It went on to become one of the biggest selling R&B records in the year 1952, and achieved massive cross-over success. The recording session took place on March 13, 1952 at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios in New Orleans. The producer, Dave Bartholomew used his backing band, which consisted of "pianist Salvador Doucette, guitarist Ernest McClean, bassist Frank Fields, drummer Earl Palmer, and saxophonists Herbert Hardesty (tenor) and Joe Harris (alto)." Many early takes fell apart as Bartholomew wasn't too pleased with the piano parts -- Fats Domino arrived at the studio, and at the behest of Bartholomew, sat in and cut the piano part. After a quick go-over, Bartholomew proclaimed "Okay, that's it" and had the tape start.

The finished take starts with Domino pounding away on his keys, in classic style -- it hooks the listener right from the beginning (well, as any good song does!) And then Price wails, "Well, Lawdy, lawdy, lawdy, miss clawdy! Girl you sure look good to me!" He begs this girl not to excite him, for the love of all things holy as he knows she can't be going for him. All the angst and anger and heartbreak the lyrics convey, Price interprets to perfection. The song was released in April '52, and sold well near a million copies. Surely it's around this time that the young Elvis Presley first heard the song. And we all know he was hooked on it.

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Elvis recorded Lawdy Miss Clawdy on February 3, 1956, in New York at the RCA Studios. It was released as a single in 1956, but it did not chart. Which is too bad, because Elvis' recording is just as exceptional as the original. Presley sings while Shorty Long plucks away at the piano keys. Elvis delivers a stand out vocal performance. While Elvis' vocal doesn't pour nearly as much emotion into the song as Price did, it seems to take on an entirely different approach. I could very well be wrong in my interpretation of Elvis' vocal, but to me, it sounds more like a tongue in cheek song in Presley's hands. It's more laid-back. There's almost no agony in the 1956 cut.

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When Elvis returned to the song in 1968, that's when you can see and hear the true emotion of the recording. Elvis, clad in black leather, the voice rough but perfect, the humor there but just as much as the intensity. "So now bye! Bye bye baby!" He means what he's singing, man. He's not letting this chick play his heart, he's getting the hell out of dodge. What a great performance, Elvis, Scotty, DJ, Fortas, LeGault, and hey, even Charlie and pushing Elvis along, demanding he gives it his all. Elvis almost never again gave the song such a great treatment ever again.
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And when I say "almost never" I point to the great February 23rd 1970 CS performance. Elvis again, revisiting the roots of the record, sits down at the piano and delivers a spontaneous, joyful, and just flat out fun version of the song. It barely lasts over a minute, but what a minute it is. The voice isn't as rough as in 1968, but it still shines.
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Elvis would return to the song a few times throughout the '70s, most notably in On Tour, where he gives another fun, great performance. Some might find the big horns intrusive, but I dig them here. Elvis is into it, the band is grooving. Like as said before, it's just FUN.
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In closing, I hope you all enjoy this topic. I may have not introduced any new information that you all didn't know, but I hope I was able to give you guys a nice reminder of this great, great record. I probably won't do another topic like this again, unless of course this one goes over well. I hope it does! Let's all dig LAWDY MISS CLAWDY.

Well lawdy, lawdy, lawdy miss clawdy
Girl you sure look good to me
But please don't excite me baby
I know it can't be me

Well as a girl you want my money
Yeah but you just won't treat me right
You like to ball every morning
Don't come home till late at night

Oh gonna tell, tell my mama
Lord, I swear girl what you been to me
I'm gonna tell everybody that I'm down in misery

So bye, bye, bye, baby
Girl, I won't be comin' no more
Goodbye little darlin' down the road I'll go
So, bye, bye, bye baby
Girl, I won't be comin' no more
Goodbye little darlin' down the road I'll go
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/elvispresley/lawdymissclawdy.html

[Fish]

I love topics like these so thank you very much. Well done!

[Juan Luis]

Thanks for that! He obviously loved that song. Elvis can be heard playing the piano to the tune on "Change Of Habit".

[vinelvis]

I really like this kind of topics. I think you did a great job on this topic!

[Vince_Everett]

It's great to see another unbiased topic on an incredible song. You did a great job SteamrollerBlues. Lawdy Miss Clawdy is such a fun little song. Don't roast me, but I prefer Price's original over Elvis' cover. The On Tour performance however, is one of my favorite live performances by Elvis. Such joy!

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[SteamrollerBlues]

Thanks for the warm response, fellas!

[Troubleman]

Yes great topic. I didn't know about Fats playing on the original. He did have a distinctive 'piano' sound, just like Jerry Lee Lewis had his.

I like all of Elvis' versions of this song.

[TeddyGirl]

Did Elvis play piano on the 1956 version? I didn't know that... thought it was Shorty Long...

[SteamrollerBlues]

Did Elvis play piano on the 1956 version? I didn't know that... thought it was Shorty Long...

Hmmm, I recalled reading somewhere that Elvis was playing the piano on the studio version. I could very well be wrong, anyone who can confirm or correct me would be welcome!

[drjohncarpenter]

Did Elvis play piano on the 1956 version? I didn't know that... thought it was Shorty Long...

Shorty Long has always been credited as playing on the single, not Elvis. None of the outtakes seem to indicate otherwise, and all twelve takes are on FTD's wonderful "classic album" release of Elvis Presley.

It's fun to revisit "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." There's a lot to talk about!

Singer Lloyd Price had only turned 19 four days before he recorded this classic, and his pleading vocals clearly resonated with other teen-agers from coast-to-coast, of all backgrounds. That unspoken connection is one of the keys to this song's success in 1952. He was one of them, not just another adult doing a ballad. It was the R&B hit of the summer, and came out just as Elvis was finishing his junior year at Humes High in Memphis. Some feel it should have shown up on the pop charts back then, but the times did not allow it. How soon this would change.

You are right about Elvis' February 1956 cover. It is brimming with confidence, and when he says good-bye to his "baby" he could care less what happens to her, he's got someone else waiting for him, 'down the road." His exuberance is so palpable, his energy so engaging, this is why he blew things wide open that year. It's not as good as the 1952 Specialty single by Lloyd, but it's still worthy, and not aping Price's R&B hit. Elvis' covers back in the 1950s certainly had a different approach to later years. And RCA held it in the can until pushing it out as a single B-side that September.

If you listen carefully to the last verse on the original single, your lyrics aren't quite right. It's only sung once, and Lloyd clearly sings 'Tarnelle":

So bye, bye, bye, baby
Girl, I won't be comin' no more
Goodbye Tarnelle darlin'
Down the road I'll go


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Lloyd Price And His Orchestra "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (Specialty 428, May 24, 1952)
Billboard "Most Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records" #1, July 12, 1952
Stayed at the top throughout the summer ... "Tarnelle" heard at 2:14


One of the coolest aspects of Elvis' rehearsals and performances at NBC Burbank in the summer of 1968 was how completely devoted he was to his original inspirations. It's like he had opened up a channel to the kid who set the world on fire in 1955-57. In the 1968 versions of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," Presley sings the "Tarnelle" line just like Lloyd did in 1952. As has been established by the historical record, Elvis had a memory like an elephant ... when he cared.

In 1969's "Change of Habit" we see two instances where "Dr. John Carpenter" (Elvis) revisits his love of the song. One, as noted, is when he is playing piano for "(Sister) Michele" in the apartment the women have rented. The song is "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." The other is the sequence where he whistles as he strolls down the street and "Amanda," the little autistic girl, whistles back at him from a front doorstep. Again, the song is "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." The good doctor makes a decision based on this event that changes her life forever. Later in the year, the song is noted on a 7-18-1969 rehearsal at RCA Hollywood in Los Angeles, although it is not known to have been done at the International in Las Vegas that summer.

I agree that the last fine version of the song in concert is from the 2-23-1970 CS in Las Vegas, despite being a spur-of-the-moment choice. That he is definitely on piano, channelling Fats Domino, is certainly a plus. None of the known renditions we have after that come close, even the "Elvis On Tour" example from the 4-09-1972 ES in Hampton Roads features an overblown arrangement. Still, he must have loved this one like he loved "I Got A Woman," as it appears in concerts from every single year in the 1970s.

One last bit, the irony of this song is it is far from Lloyd Price's greatest success. He would score much bigger hits later in the decade, with "Personality" and "Stagger Lee" at the top of the list. Lloyd is still with us, at the age of 82! God bless him, and thanks again for creating this topic.

[SteamrollerBlues]

Excellent, Doc!! Thanks, I've corrected the information in my original post.

[r&b]

Elvis outdid Lloyd on his original 56 master and again on the 68 TV special with fantastic renditions. By the time we get to the tours of the 70's it is changed completely, and it becomes a Vegas tune with unspectacular signing compared to the older versions with no soul, no guts, but plenty of horns.

[drjohncarpenter]

Elvis outdid Lloyd on his original 56 master and again on the 68 TV special with fantastic renditions. By the time we get to the tours of the 70's it is changed completely, and it becomes a Vegas tune with unspectacular signing compared to the older versions with no soul, no guts, but plenty of horns.

1968? Absolutely, yes.

[r&b]

Elvis outdid Lloyd on his original 56 master and again on the 68 TV special with fantastic renditions. By the time we get to the tours of the 70's it is changed completely, and it becomes a Vegas tune with unspectacular signing compared to the older versions with no soul, no guts, but plenty of horns.

1968? Absolutely, yes.

1968 was incredible for this tune, Trying to Get To You, One Night and many others. So often people would say (me among them) how i wish Elvis would have dipped into his back catalog on tour and sang some of his classics. But if all we were to get were Vegas arrangements with auto-pilot singing or rushed versions & medleys such as we know them, maybe its best he didnt. Lawdy Miss Clawdy in the 70s was a tremendous let down for me as it is one of my favorite 1956 masters.

[jurasic1968]

Too bad he performed this song, Doc in the final years. So it became a parody, like I Got a Woman? How sad that these 2 songs sang so wonderful by Elvis in 1968 became throwaways in the middle 70's.

[Rich_TCB]

Well done, SteamrollerBlues.

I also didn't know that Fats Domino played on the original recording, so thank you for the info.

[Fabbe]

One of my all time favorite Elvis tune. I love it! The live version of the seventies lost the sound.


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[Stvimpe]

Great post. Thanks, Steamrollerblues! I love the 50s master but I'm crrraaazy about the '68 live version. Elvis tears the house down with Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Trying to Get to You, One Night, the Baby What Do You Want Me To Do jam...

[SteamrollerBlues]

I'm glad this topic has gone over well! Might be another one soon...

[Johnny2523]

It's great to see another unbiased topic on an incredible song. You did a great job SteamrollerBlues. Lawdy Miss Clawdy is such a fun little song. Don't roast me, but I prefer Price's original over Elvis' cover. The On Tour performance however, is one of my favorite live performances by Elvis. Such joy!

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here it is in even better quality
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[Vince_Everett]

It's great to see another unbiased topic on an incredible song. You did a great job SteamrollerBlues. Lawdy Miss Clawdy is such a fun little song. Don't roast me, but I prefer Price's original over Elvis' cover. The On Tour performance however, is one of my favorite live performances by Elvis. Such joy!

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here it is in even better quality
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From one of the best Elvis orientated YouTube channels around, Johnny.

[Johnny2523]

It's great to see another unbiased topic on an incredible song. You did a great job SteamrollerBlues. Lawdy Miss Clawdy is such a fun little song. Don't roast me, but I prefer Price's original over Elvis' cover. The On Tour performance however, is one of my favorite live performances by Elvis. Such joy!

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here it is in even better quality
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From one of the best Elvis orientated YouTube channels around, Johnny.

Thank you for the compliments vince

[Eggrert]

The 50s master is weird, in that in some ways it feels like a throwaway...but that's precisely the source of its magic. It's a lot smoother than perhaps it should be, but it's wonderful all the same.

The 1968 versions up the ante...and considerably, at that. As far as sheer emotion goes, they blow the 50s version out of the water. But they're two very different performances, and we're lucky to have both.

After that...yeah, it's sort of a waste.

[TJ]

If you listen carefully to the last verse on the original single, your lyrics aren't quite right. It's only sung once, and Lloyd clearly sings 'Tarnelle":

So bye, bye, bye, baby
Girl, I won't be comin' no more
Goodbye Tarnelle darlin'
Down the road I'll go


..

Lloyd Price And His Orchestra "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (Specialty 428, May 24, 1952)
Billboard "Most Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records" #1, July 12, 1952
Stayed at the top throughout the summer ... "Tarnelle" heard at 2:14

He doesn't sing "Tarnelle". The correct lyric is "Good Bye Clawdy Oh' Darling". I asked Lloyd Price a couple of years ago:
http://elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=77478&p=1185223&hilit=Tarnelle#p1185223

If you are listening for "Tarnelle" you can get "Tarnelle" but you can clearly hear the correct lyrics once you know them.

It is more obvious with the phrasing used in live versions, including this:

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[Liverbobs]

One of my favourite Elvis tunes, I don't think he does a bad version of it but the 68 version is awesome.