Daddy's Home (song)

1961 single by Shep and the Limelites From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Daddy's Home" is a song by American doo-wop group Shep and the Limelites. The song was written by the three members of the band, James "Shep" Sheppard (1935–1970), Clarence Bassett (1936–2005) and Charles Baskerville. The group recorded the original version of "Daddy's Home" on February 1, 1961, and it was released on Hull Records in March 1961 with the B-side being "This I Know".

B-side"This I Know"
ReleasedMarch 1961
Length2:47
Quick facts Single by Shep and the Limelites, B-side ...
"Daddy's Home"
Single by Shep and the Limelites
B-side"This I Know"
ReleasedMarch 1961
GenreR&B
Length2:47
LabelHull
SongwritersJames "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Shep and the Limelites singles chronology
"I'm So Lonely"
(1961)
"Daddy's Home"
(1961)
"Ready for Your Love"
(1961)
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The song is considered a sequel to the Heartbeats' song "A Thousand Miles Away", with the closing line in the coda being: "I'm not a thousand miles away".

"Daddy's Home" reached no. 2 on the Billboard popular music chart in May 1961.[1] It was kept from No.1 by "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson.[2]

Later songs by the band were not as successful as "Daddy's Home", but still sold well.[3][4]

Part of a song cycle

The song is an example of James Sheppard's legacy of composing of rock 'n' roll's first-ever song cycle titles, telling the story of a relationship, beginning with going home to his girl, and further twists along the way, like getting married, celebrating their anniversary, problems encountered etc. The songs that told this story cycle were famously "A Thousand Miles Away", "500 Miles to Go", both with the Heartbeats; and continued with "Daddy's Home", "Three Steps from the Altar," "Our Anniversary", and "What Did Daddy Do?" for Shep and the Limelites.[5]

Chart history

More information Chart (1961), Peak position ...
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Covers

The song was covered by many artists including P. J. Proby (1970), Frank Zappa (1971),[11] Jermaine Jackson (1972), Toots and the Maytals (Funky Kingston 1973), The Carpenters (‘’Live In Japan’’ 1974, Richard Carpenter lead), Junior English, Cliff Richard (1981) and Tim Maia (1997)

Jermaine Jackson

Quick facts Single by Jermaine Jackson, from the album Jermaine ...
"Daddy's Home"
Single by Jermaine Jackson
from the album Jermaine
B-side"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me for a Little While)"
ReleasedNovember 15, 1972[12]
Recorded1972
StudioMotown
Genre
Length2:59
LabelMotown
SongwritersJames "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Jermaine Jackson singles chronology
"That's How Love Goes"
(1972)
"Daddy's Home"
(1972)
"You're in Good Hands"
(1973)
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Jermaine Jackson covered the song for his 1972 debut solo album, Jermaine, and it was released as the second single from the album. His version featured the rest of the Jackson 5 on backing vocals. The single peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 in Canada in March 1973.[14]

Record World said of this version "Beautifully produced, this funky ballad should be a natural winner."[15]

His version was sampled in the 1973 break-in record "Super Fly Meets Shaft" (US #31).

Chart history

More information Chart (1973), Peak position ...
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Cliff Richard version

Quick facts Single by Cliff Richard, from the album Wired for Sound ...
"Daddy's Home (live)"
Single by Cliff Richard
from the album Wired for Sound
B-side"Shakin' All Over (live)"
ReleasedNovember 6, 1981
RecordedMay 1, 1981[22]
VenueHammersmith Odeon
GenrePop, Doo-wop
Length2:55
LabelEMI
SongwritersJames Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
ProducerCliff Richard[23]
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"Wired for Sound"
(1981)
"Daddy's Home (live)"
(1981)
"The Only Way Out"
(1982)
Music video
"Daddy's Home" on YouTube
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British singer Cliff Richard released a live version as a single for the Christmas period in 1981. It was the second single from his 1981 album Wired for Sound.

The song became an international hit reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and number 23 on US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1982 — nearly twenty years after the release of the original by Shep and the Limelites. In Britain, it was certified Gold by the BPI for sales over 500,000.[24]

A video clip was recorded to accompany the single release instead of using footage of the original BBC live recording.[25]

Chart performance and certifications

More information Chart (1981–1982), Peak position ...
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References

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