The Song of Summer 1964 Was “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”

This song is all American and was first released in 1963. However, it was a British band which made this tune into a smash hit in 1964 with their cover of “Do Wah Diddy Diddy.” Today it’s a true classic, one that a lot of folks have fond memories of.

The first band to record the song was The Exciters, a group of three women and one man. The Exciters influenced Dusty Springfield to embark on a solo career, but also gave Manfred Mann their 1964 hit. At the time copyright laws were such that a cover of a song constituted a new work and so covers quite often outperformed their original counterparts in the charts. In 1964 Manfred Mann’s summertime hit topped the charts and many of us have some very fond summer memories that come up whenever we hear this song. Have a listen to this 1960s classic in the video below.