"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 No. 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 covered 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.
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