Walking the Dog

This article is about the Rufus Thomas song. For other uses, see Dog walking (disambiguation).

"Walking the Dog"

Single by Rufus Thomas
from the album Walking the Dog
Released	September 1963
Format	Single
Genre	R&B
Length	2:30
Label	Stax Records
Writer(s)	Rufus Thomas
Producer(s)	Jim Stewart
Certification	Gold (RIAA)

"Walking the Dog" (or "Walkin' the Dog") is a Rufus Thomas song. It was released on his 1963 album Walking the Dog. It was his signature hit and also his biggest, reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1963 and remaining on the Hot 100 for 14 weeks.^[1] The lyrics make references to children's nursery rhymes.

The song was recorded several months later by the Rolling Stones in 1964. Unlike most Stones' recordings, the song features harmony vocals on the chorus solely by Brian Jones (most early Stones songs feature Jones and Bill Wyman on backing vocals, with Keith Richards replacing the two not long after), which makes their recording of the song unique in their catalogue. The only hit version in the UK was by the Dennisons, whose recording reached number 36 on the UK singles chart in 1964.^[2]

Many other artists also recorded the song, including Aerosmith, Roger Daltrey, Green Day, Hans Theessink, the Flamin' Groovies, the Kingsmen, the Sonics, Ace Cannon, Jackie Shane, the Trashmen, Luv'd Ones, Bob Paisley and the Southern Grass and Ratt. It was performed live occasionally by the Grateful Dead in 1966, 1970, and the mid-eighties.

Releases

Year	Artist	Album
1963	Rufus Thomas	Walking the Dog
1964	The Rolling Stones	The Rolling Stones
1964	The Excels	45 only
1964	Johnny Rivers	At the Whisky à Go Go
1965	The Kingsmen	The Kingsmen Volume II
1965	The Sonics	Here Are the Sonics
1966	Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels	Breakout...!!!
1966	The Everly Brothers	Beat & Soul
1966	Davy Graham	Midnight Man
1967	Ace Cannon	Memphis Golden Hits
1969	Sandie Shaw	Reviewing the Situation
1971	The Flamin' Groovies	Teenage Head
1973	Aerosmith	Aerosmith
1975	Rick Derringer	Spring Fever
1975	Roger Daltrey	Ride a Rock Horse
1975	Spirit	Spirit of '76
1976	Dr. Feelgood	Stupidity
1979	John Cale	Sabotage/Live
1983	Ratt	Ratt
1993	Green Day	Demos tape for Dookie
1998^[3]	The Trashmen	Bird Call!: The Twin City Stomp of the Trashmen
2013	American Dog & Fin	Dogatized (song's title changed to "Rocking the Dog")
2015	Schizophrenic Spacers	Live version from "Macumba: Live at Last" https://youtu.be/CX_pFUG3WrM

References

↑ Bullfrog's Pond Billboard Top 100. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.
↑ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 211. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
↑ CD Universe Previously unreleased track, recorded between 1961 and 1967.

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