Today a song written by Bo Diddley and covered amazingly well by the Yardbirds, "I'm A Man". The song roared to #17 on the U.S. charts in October of 1965, and illustrated the experimentation with fuzz and amplifier feedback the Yardbirds were known for. In my opinion, the song is largely forgotten by oldie programmers today because they assume it's the same song as the Chicago and Spencer Davis hits of the same name... but it's not even close. Best known for launching the careers of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, the Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. They still tour today with two original members, Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja.
The Yardbird version of I'm A Man was featured in the opening episode of the Simpsons' 2007-2008 season on Fox, so even though programmers ignore the song today, Bart Simpson remembers...
