"Susie Q" is a rockabilly song co-written and performed by American musician Dale Hawkins[4] released in 1957. The song was a commercial success and became a classic of the early rock and roll era, being recorded by many other performers in subsequent years.
Original version
Hawkins wrote the song with bandmate Robert Chaisson, but when released, Stan Lewis, the owner of Jewel/Paula Records and whose daughter Susan was the inspiration for the song, and Eleanor Broadwater, the wife of Nashville DJ Gene Nobles, were credited as co-writers to give them shares of the royalties.[5]
Hawkins cut "Susie Q" at the KWKH Radio station in Shreveport, Louisiana.[2] "Susie Q" was a late rockabilly song which captured the spirit of Louisiana and featured guitar work by James Burton, who later worked with Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley, among others.[6] Burton has stated on multiple occasions, including on a talk show hosted by former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, that he composed the music to "Susie Q," initially as an instrumental, but was not given a co-writing credit or share of the publishing.[7]
Creedence Clearwater Revival released a version on their debut album in 1968. The band's only Top 40 hit not written by John Fogerty, it peaked at number 11[18] for one week in November 1968. This song was their first big hit.[19] The album version clocks in at 8:37. The single is split into parts one and two on its A and B sides, respectively. The jam session during the coda is omitted in part one. Instead, it fades out with the guitar solo right before the coda, which fades in with part two on the B-side. Fogerty plays the main riff from "Smokestack Lightning" after the second verse.
Fogerty told Rolling Stone magazine in 1993 that he recorded "Suzie Q" to get the song played on KMPX, a funky progressive-rock radio station in San Francisco, which is why it was extended to eight minutes.[20]
The CCR version of the song was first certified Gold by the RIAA on December 13, 1990, for half a million copies shipped, and Platinum on May 10, 2019, for a million copies in sales and streams.[21]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Other versions
Ronnie Hawkins, Dale's cousin, released a version of the song in the early 1960s with the Hawks, later known as The Band, backing him. King Curtis also played tenor saxophone on the record.[citation needed]
The Trashmen played a live cover of "Susie Q" in 1965 released on the album, Teen Trot: Live At Ellsworth, WI - August 22, 1965. Their vocalist mistakenly attributed the song to The Rolling Stones during stage banter after playing the song.[citation needed]
In 1970, Puerto Rican musician José Feliciano released his version of "Susie Q" as a single which reached number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.[27] His version was rearranged and features several different lyrics.[citation needed]
In 1988, American singer Bobby McFerrin published an all vocal-version of "Susie Q" on his breakthrough album Simple Pleasures. He re-composed all instrumental parts into backing vocals, all sung by himself, and also sang the main part.[citation needed]
Suzi Quatro
American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro released two different versions of the song on the albums Oh, Suzi Q. and Unreleased Emotion.[citation needed]
^Millar, Bill (1990). "Rockabilly: Was This the Purest Style in Rock?". In Brown, Ashley (ed.). The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music. Volume. Vol. 1 (Reference ed.). Freeport, New York: Marshall Cavendish. p. 102. ISBN1-85435-016-1.
^Molanphy, Chris (February 28, 2019). "The Bad Moon on the Rise Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved August 20, 2023.