Susie-Q

Album

Oh! Suzy-Q - The Definitive & Remastered Edition

Label

Checker

Genre

Swamp Rock

Media Type

78

Duration

2:13

Composer(s)

Eleanor Broadwater;Dale Hawkins;Stan Lewis

Entered Chart

Jun 10, 1957

Peak Date

Jul 8, 1957

Released

May 1957

Recorded

1957

Catalog #

Checker 863

B-Side

Don't Treat Me This Way

"Susie Q" is a rockabilly song co-written and performed by American musician Dale Hawkins released in 1957. The song was a commercial success and became a classic of the early rock and roll era, being recorded by many other performers in subsequent years. Original version Hawkins wrote the song with bandmate Robert Chaisson, but when released, Stan Lewis, the owner of Jewel/Paula Records and whose daughter Susan was the inspiration for the song, and Eleanor Broadwater, the wife of Nashville DJ Gene Nobles, were credited as co-writers to give them shares of the royalties. Hawkins cut "Susie Q" at the KWKH Radio station in Shreveport, Louisiana. "Susie Q" was a late rockabilly song which captured the spirit of Louisiana and featured guitar work by James Burton, who later worked with Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley, among others. Burton has stated on multiple occasions, including on a talk show hosted by former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, that he composed the music to "Susie Q," initially as an instrumental, but was not given a co-writing credit or share of the publishing. Sometime after the recording, the master tape of "Susie Q" was sold to Checker Records in Chicago, which released it as a 45 RPM single in May 1957. The single peaked at numbers 7 and 27 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides and Hot 100 charts, respectively. In Canada, the song reached number 16 in the CHUM Charts. Hawkins' original version is also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" and in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).

Oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q
I love you my Susie Q

I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk my Susie Q

Oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q baby I love you
My Susie Q

You say that you'll be true
You say that you'll be true
You say that you'll be true
And never leave me blue my Susie Q

Oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q
Oh Susie Q I love you my Susie Q