Original Song
"I Wish You Would" was developed from "Diddy Diddy Dum Dum", a song Billy Boy Arnold wrote and sang with Bo Diddley. Leonard Chess, the owner/producer of Diddley's record label, planned to record the song as Diddley's second single. However, Arnold heard that Chess did not like him, so he took the song to Chess rival Vee-Jay Records. Vee-Jay suggested that he change the lyrics, so Arnold came up with "I Wish You Would".
- Early in the morning about the break of day
- That's when my baby went away
- Crying and pleading won't do you no good
- Come back baby I wish you would
The song features a one-chord modal blues structure with a repeating guitar figure and Diddley-style rhythm. Backing Arnold (vocal and harmonica) are Jody Williams (guitar), Milton Rector (bass), and Earl Phillips (drums). The single, credited to "Billy Boy", reportedly sold well, but did not appear in the national record charts. Arnold revisited "I Wish You Would" several times during his career, producing new studio versions and live versions of the song for a variety of record labels.
Arnold later commented that because of "I Wish You Would" he was unfairly labeled as a Bo Diddley stylist. "I was a straight blues guy... Bo Diddley's stuff was rock'n'rollish, it wasn't straight blues, and when I did "I Wish You Would," and it had that similar type of beat, that just throws me in the same pot with Bo Diddley, 'cause everybody identified the song as a Bo Diddley type of song. But I had no intention of ever doing anything like Bo Diddley, 'cause that wasn't my style of music."
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