“I Pity the Fool” is a song originally recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961 for Duke Records. The song was credited to Deadric Malone, a pseudonym of Duke Records owner Don Robey. David Bowie covered it under the name The Manish Boys in 1965 and it was released as his second single.
According to author Charles Farley, the song was actually written by Joe Medwick (born Joseph Medwick Veasey), who would regularly sell his completed songs, which also included “Farther Up the Road”, to Robey for small sums (recollections of the sum vary between $5 and $100).
The Manish Boys (with David Bowie) version
The Manish Boys’ (at that time featuring David Bowie) version was released in 1965. The recording was produced by Shel Talmy, who was also producing the early singles and albums by The Who and The Kinks. Jimmy Page was Talmy’s regular session musician and he played the guitar solo on “I Pity the Fool”.
During these sessions Page gave Bowie a guitar riff, which he didn’t know what to do with. Bowie later used this guitar riff in two different songs, first on “The Supermen” from 1971 and second on “Dead Man Walking” from 1997.
The B-side, “Take My Tip” was the first song written by David Bowie (then known and credited as Davie Jones) to be released on record.
Track listing
“I Pity the Fool” (Malone) – 2:08
“Take My Tip” (Davie Jones) – 2:15
Production credits
Producers:
Shel Talmy
Musicians:
David Jones: Vocals, Alto sax (born David Robert Hayward Jones, 8 January 1947)
Johnny Flux: lead Guitar (born John Edward Flux, in 1945)
Jimmy Page: Guitar solo (born James Patrick Page, 9 January 1944)
John Watson: Bass (born John Edward Watson, 1944)
Mick White: Drums (born Micheal Barry Whitehead, 1943)
Bob Solly: organ (born Robert Lester Solly, 1944)
Woolf Byrne: Baritone sax and harmonica (born 1941)
Paul Rodriguez: Tenor sax and Trumpet (born Francis Paul Sylvester Rodriguez, 1944)
Other singles and compilations
Both the A and B-side was re-released by EMI in the UK in March 1979 on one side of a 7″. On the B-side of this re-release was “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving” and “Baby Loves That Way”. This version was again released by See For Miles Records in the UK in October 1982, and as a 12″ picture disc in June 1985. The re-release by See For Miles in 1982 took the edge off a collector’s market since EMI’s March 1979 reissue disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.
Both tracks appear on the CD compilation Early On (1964-1966) from 1991, but both have alternate vocals.
