Mona (I Need You Baby)

"Mona (I Need You Baby)" is a song written by Ellas McDaniel (Bo Diddley) that appeared as the B-side to his 1957 single "Hey! Bo Diddley". According to Diddley's obituary in The New York Times, "Mona" was a song of praise he wrote for a 45-year-old exotic dancer who worked at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit. The song also became the template for the Crickets's "Not Fade Away".

Craig McLachlan & Check 1–2 version

In April 1990, Australian actor and musician Craig McLachlan released a version with his band, Check 1–2, as the second single from their 1990 debut album, Craig McLachlan & Check 1-2. It was a commercial success, peaking at 3 in Australia and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. In Australia, it was the highest-selling single by a native artist in 1990. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1991 it won ARIA Award for Highest-Selling Single.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

• The Rolling Stones for their debut album in 1964 in the UK and on the US album The Rolling Stones, Now! in 1965.
• T. C. Atlantic with a regional hit single in 1966.
• The Troggs on their 1967 album Trogglodynamite.
• Quicksilver Messenger Service for their second album, 1969's Happy Trails. It was ranked number 88 on the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.
• Grateful Dead performed the song twice – first with Bo Diddley on 25 March 1972 (released on Dick's Picks Volume 30) and then again on 27 October 1991 with guests Gary Duncan and Carlos Santana.
• The Roosters on their 1980 self-titled debut album.
• Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush covered "Mona" on their 1980 album What’s Next.
• Bruce Springsteen often interpolated "Mona" as an introduction to his "She's the One" on the Born to Run tours and Darkness Tour in the 1970s.
• Bo Diddley performed "Mona" with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on March 28, 1999, at the Fillmore West.

References