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I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am

"I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am"
Song
Written 1910
Writer(s) Fred Murray, R. P. Weston
"I'm Henry VIII, I Am"
Single by Herman's Hermits
from the album Herman's Hermits and Their Second Album! Herman's Hermits on Tour
A-side "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"
B-side "The End of the World"
Released June 1965 (US)
September 1965 (UK)
Recorded De Lane Lea Studios, London, 1 February 1965
Genre Beat, pop
Label EMI
Writer(s) Fred Murray, R. P. Weston
Herman's Hermits singles chronology
"Wonderful World"
(1965)
"I'm Henry VIII, I Am"
(1965)
"Just a Little Bit Better"
(1965)

"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. 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. The lead solo on the Hermits' version was played by the group's lead guitarist Derek "Lek" Leckenby.

In the well-known chorus, Henery explains that his wife had been married seven times before:

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!

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 the penis.

The song is often sung in a Cockney accent.

This song was recorded (in 1961) and extensively performed live by the British star Joe Brown, who revived the song and made it largely known in the pop world. His version has two choruses either side of his guitar solo. (B-side, Piccadilly Records 7N 35005) He performs it live still today.

The Herman's Hermits version consists of the chorus sung 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 for her 1966 album Connie Francis and The Kids Next Door use this call as well.


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Wikipedia

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