Roger Daltrey: “Walking the Dog” (1975)

Hey diddle diddle, it’s Roger Daltrey!

Kronomyth 2.2: Proud mary mack.

You might be wondering how we arrived at a place where Roger Daltrey was belting out children’s nursery rhymes, so let’s take a little trip back to 1963. An R&B singer in his mid forties, Rufus Thomas, was capitalizing on the success of his last single, “The Dog,” with his new song, Walking the Dog. It became a Top 10 hit, capturing the imagination of the young, cool white kids who were just discovering rhythm and blues. It quickly became canon. The Rolling Stones covered it the following year, then Grateful Dead and, a full decade later, Daltrey revisited it. Daltrey’s version is the loudest of the three, although I prefer the Stones’ version. Daltrey and his bandmates in The Who (then known as The Detours) would have been familiar with this song in 1963, so it may be that Daltrey had always wanted to cover this song. Whatever the inspiration for covering it now, he gives it the usual punch and panache, which results in the heaviest reading of “Hey Diddle Diddle” you’ll ever hear. Apparently, no one thought to say anything; emperor’s new clothes and all that. The B side is the Russ Ballard original, Proud, which also appeared on Ride a Rock Horse. It does not contain any nursery rhymes, and thus is the better vehicle for Daltrey’s voice.

Original 7-inch single version

A1. Walking the Dog (Rufus Thomas)
B1. Proud (Russ Ballard)

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch single on August 1, 1975 in the UK, Australia, Belgium and New Zealand (Polydor, 2058 628) and the Netherlands (Polydor, 2058 638) and Spain (Polydor, 20 58 628) with regional picture sleeve.