I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" (also "I'm Henery the VIII, I Am" or "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"; spelled "Henery" but pronounced "'Enery" in the Cockney style normally used to sing it) is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston. It was a signature song of the music hall star Harry Champion. Joe Brown included the song on his first album "A Picture of You" in 1962. But in 1965, it became the fastest-selling song in history to that point when it  was revived by Herman's Hermits, becoming the group's second number-one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, dethroning "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Despite that success, the single was not released in the UK. The song is one of the shortest (in length) number one singles in the US of all time. In the well-known chorus, Henery explains that his wife had been married seven times before, each time to another Henery: <poem>I'm 'Enery the Eighth, I am, 'Enery the Eighth I am, I am! I got married to the widow next door , She's been married seven times before And every one was an 'Enery She wouldn't have a Willie nor a Sam I'm her eighth old man named 'Enery 'Enery the Eighth, I am!</poem> However, in the Hermits' version, Peter Noone ends each chorus with "I'm her eighth old man, I'm 'Enery" and never sings "named". Harry Champion version. According to one source, Champion "used to fire off [the chorus] at tremendous speed with almost desperate gusto, his face bathed in sweat and his arms and legs flying in all directions." In later versions recorded by  Champion, "Willie" is changed to "William" because the former is a British slang term for "penis." Joe Brown version. Joe Brown first released the song as a single in June of 1961 on the Picadilly label. George Harrison was a fan of Brown's and sang the song as part of the Beatles' early repertoire. (The group never recorded their version.) Herman's Hermits version. The rock and roll stylings of the song gave Herman's Hermits their second US number one hit; it contains only the chorus (and none of the three verses) of the original. As a result , the tune is a mere one minute and fifty seconds long, one of the shortest-ever songs to top the "Billboard" singles chart. In their short and fast take of the song, the guitar and bass are considered proto-punk and were a direct influence on the Ramones, (indeed the song "Judy Is A Punk" includes the line "Second verse, same as the first" as in the Hermits' tune.) The speedy guitar work at the break by lead guitarist Derek Leckenby evokes Chuck Berry sonically (e. g. “Johnny B. Goode”) then memorably shifts into quoting the melody. "Billboard" praised the  song's "strong dance beat and vocal performance." They performed the song on "Hullabaloo" as well as "The Ed Sullivan Show". This version was also performed on the third season premiere of "The Jimmy Dean Show" with Jimmy Dean and Jim Henson's Rowlf the Dog wearing wigs, three months after Herman's performance on Sullivan. Other versions. In 1961, this song was recorded and extensively performed live by the British star Joe Brown, who revived the song and made it largely known in the British pop world. His version has two choruses either side of his guitar solo (B -side, Piccadilly Records 7N 35005). To the present day, Brown often performs it in concert. Connie Francis recorded a version for her 1966 album "Connie Francis and The Kids Next Door". Title and lyrics. The song is traditionally sung in a Cockney accent. Earlier sources usually spell the name "Henery" (as do some old sources when referring to the historical King of England and Ireland), and the music requires the name "Henery" (or "'Enery") to be pronounced as three syllables. The sheet music for the 1965 Herman's Hermits revival, however, presented the name as "Henry", as do sources referring  to this version. In the Herman's Hermits version, the band sings the lyrics three times. Between the first two choruses, Peter Noone calls out, "Second verse, same as the first!". The background singers on the version recorded by Connie Francis use this call as well.