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"My Ding-a-Ling" is a novelty song written and recorded by Dave Bartholomew.

It was
covered by Chuck Berry in 1972 and became his only number-one Billboard Hot 100
single in the United States.[1] Later that year, in a longer unedited form, it was
included on the album The London Chuck Berry Sessions. Guitarist Onnie McIntyre and
drummer Robbie McIntosh who later that year went on to form the Average White Band,
played on the single along with Nic Potter of Van der Graaf Generator on bass.

"My Ding-a-Ling" was originally recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952 for King
Records. When Bartholomew moved to Imperial Records, he re-recorded the song under
the new title, "Little Girl Sing Ting-a-Ling". In 1954, the Bees on Imperial
released a version entitled "Toy Bell". Berry recorded a version called "My
Tambourine" in 1968, but the version which topped the charts was recorded live
during the Lanchester Arts Festival at the Locarno ballroom in Coventry, England,
on 3 February 1972, where Berry � backed by the Roy Young Band � topped a bill that
also included Slade, George Carlin, Billy Preston and Pink Floyd. Boston radio
station WMEX disc jockey Jim Connors was credited with a gold record for
discovering the song and pushing it to #1 over the airwaves and amongst his peers
in the United States. Billboard ranked it as the No. 15 song for 1972.

The song is based on the melody of the 19th century folk song "Little Brown Jug".

Contents

1 Content
2 Critical reception
3 Censorship
4 Charts
4.1 Weekly charts
4.2 Year-end charts
5 References
6 Bibliography
7 External links

Content

The song tells of how the singer received a toy consisting of "silver bells hanging
on a string" from his grandmother, who calls them his "ding-a-ling". According to
the song, he plays with it in school, and holds on to it in dangerous situations
like falling after climbing the garden wall, and swimming across a creek infested
with snapping turtles. From the second verse onward, the lyrics consistently
exercise the double entendre in that a penis could just as easily be substituted
for the toy bells and the song would still make sense.[2]

In the live Berry version, Berry makes the chorus a call-and-response, in which the
women in the audience sing �my� and the men respond by shouting �ding-a-ling!� At
one point, Berry notes that a few of the men are singing the women's parts and that
some women are adding (audible in the recording) a harmony line; Berry allows and
openly encourages it, exclaiming �it's a free country! Live like you wanna live!�
In the final verse, he admonishes "those of you who will not sing" by suggesting
that they "must be playing with [their] own ding-a-ling".
Critical reception

The lyrics with their sly tone and innuendo (and the enthusiasm of Berry and the
audience) caused many radio stations to refuse to play it. British morality
campaigner Mary Whitehouse tried unsuccessfully to get the song banned.[3] "One
teacher," Whitehouse wrote to the BBC's Director General, "told us of how she found
a class of small boys with their trousers undone, singing the song and giving it
the indecent interpretation which�in spite of all the hullabaloo�is so obvious ...
We trust you will agree with us that it is no part of the function of the BBC to be
the vehicle of songs which stimulate this kind of behaviour�indeed quite the
reverse."[4]

In Icons of Rock, Scott Schinder calls the song "a sophomoric, double-entendre-
laden ode to masturbation".[5] Robert Christgau remarked that the song "permitted a
lot of twelve-year-olds new insight into the moribund concept of 'dirty'".[6]

Berry refers to the song on the recording as "our alma mater".[clarification needed
(Why?)]
Censorship

For a re-run of American Top 40, some stations, such as WOGL in Philadelphia,
replaced the song with an optional extra when it aired a rerun of a November 18,
1972 broadcast of AT40 (where it ranked at #14)[7] on December 6, 2008. Among other
stations, most Clear Channel-owned radio stations to whom the AT40 '70s
rebroadcasts were contracted did not air the rebroadcast that same weekend,
although it was because they were playing Christmas music and not because of the
controversy. Even back in 1972, some stations would refuse to play the song on
AT40, even when it reached number one.

The controversy was lampooned in The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Pony", in which a
Springfield Elementary School student attempts to sing the song during the school's
talent show. He barely finishes the first line of the refrain before an irate
Principal Skinner pushes him off the stage, angrily proclaiming "This act is
over!"[8][9]
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australia 47
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)[10] 1
Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 40
Irish Singles Chart 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 29
Norway (VG-lista)[13] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 1
US R&B Singles (Billboard)[15] 42
US Cash Box Top 100[16] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1972) Rank
UK 18
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 15
US Cash Box [18] 40
References

"Chuck Berry Chart History". Billboard.com. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved January


23, 2018.
Burke, Lucy; Crowley, Tony; Girvin, Alan (2000). The Routledge Language and
Cultural Theory Reader. Psychology Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-415-18681-0.
Coleman, Sarah (February 2002). "Morals Campaigner Mary Whitehouse". World Press
Review. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
Ben Thompson (ed.) Ban This Filth!: Letters from the Mary Whitehouse Archive",
London: Faber, 2012 cited by "Ban This Filth!: Letters from the Mary Whitehouse
Archive by Ben Thompson � review", The Guardian, 26 October 2012
Schinder, Scott (2008). Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed
Music Forever. Greenwood Press. p. 68. ISBN 0313338450.
Christgau, Robert (1988). "Chuck Berry". In Anthony Decurtis; James Henke. The
RollingStone : The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their
Music. New York: Random House. pp. 60�66. ISBN 0679737286.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-01-04. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
Jean, Al (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Pony"
(DVD). 20th Century Fox.
Reiss, Mike (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's
Pony" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
"100 Singles" (PHP). RPM. 18 (12): 15. November 4, 1972. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
"Musicline.de � Berry, Chuck Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control
Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
"Dutchcharts.nl � Chuck Berry � My Ding-A-Ling" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
"Norwegiancharts.com � Chuck Berry � My Ding-A-Ling". VG-lista.
"Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
"Chuck Berry: Charts & Awards � Billboard Singles". Allmusic. United States: Rovi
Corporation. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 28, 1972
Musicoutfitters.com

Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1972

Bibliography

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