The Johnny Otis original version of the song produced by Tom Morgan has an infectious Bo Diddley beat, similar to the hit "Bo Diddley" of Bo Diddley,[1][2] much of it provided by drummer Earl Palmer.[6] Johnny Otis biographer George Lipsitz describes Jimmy Nolen's guitar riff on the song as "unforgettable".[2] The music was based on a song Otis had heard a chain gang singing while touring, combined with work Otis did as a teenager when he was performing with Count Otis Matthews and the West Oakland House Stompers.[2]
The lyrics tell of a man named Willie who became famous for doing a hand jive dance.[1][2] In a sense, the story is similar to that of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", which tells of someone who became famous for playing the guitar and was released two months before "Willie and the Hand Jive".[1] The origin of the song came when one of Otis' managers, Hal Ziegler, found out that rock'n'roll concert venues in England did not permit the teenagers to stand up and dance in the aisles, so they instead danced with their hands while remaining in their seats.[2][5] At Otis' concerts, performers would demonstrate Willie's "hand jive" dance to the audience, so the audience could dance along.[2] The dance consisted of clapping two fists together one on top of the other, followed by rolling the arms around each other.[2] Otis' label, Capitol Records, also provided diagrams showing how to do the hand jive dance.[5]
Despite the song's references to dancing, and despite the demonstrations of the dance during performances, would-be censors believed that the song was about masturbation.[2] As recently as 1992, an interviewer for NPR asked Otis "Is 'Hand Jive' really about masturbation?"[2][7] Otis was frustrated by this misinterpretation.[7]
Eric Clapton recorded "Willie and the Hand Jive" for his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Clapton slowed down the tempo for his version.[12] Author Chris Welch believes that the song benefits from this "slow burn".[12]Billboard described it as a "monster powerful cut" that retains elements from Clapton's previous single "I Shot the Sheriff."[13]Record World said that "Clapton slowly boogies [the song] into laid-back magnificence."[14] However, Rolling Stone critic Ken Emerson complains that the song sounds "disconcertingly mournful".[15] Other critics praised Clapton's confident vocals.[16] Author Marc Roberty claimed that on this song, "Eric's vocals had clearly matured, with fluctuations and intonations that were convincing rather than tentative as in the past."[17] Clapton's version of the song was released as a single in 1974 and reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #28 in the Netherlands.[18][19] It also reached #31 on the RPM magazine's top singles chart in Canada[20] and peaked at #99 on the Oricon singles chart in Japan.[21] Clapton included the song on his compilation album Time Pieces: Best of Eric Clapton.[22] The single's B-side, George Terry's "Mainline Florida", was described as "breaking away from the established tone" of the album and features Clapton's using talk box during his outgoing solo.[23] Clapton often played "Hand Jive" live, and it appeared on the live DVD One Night Only Live.[17][24] Author Harry Shapiro said that the song could sound like "a dirge on bad nights but uplifting when the mood was right".[25] Music author Dave Thompson claimed that Clapton's "live versions almost get you learning the [hand jive] movements all over again."[26]
George Thorogood recorded a version of "Willie and the Hand Jive" for his 1985 album with the Destroyers Maverick.[27] His single version charted on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, peaking at #25, and reached #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1][28]Allmusic critic James Christopher Monger called the song one of Thorogood's "high points."[29] Thorogood included the song on his 2000 compilation album Anthology, his 2002 compilation album On Tap Plus, his 2003 compilation album The George Thorogood Collection and his 2008 compilation The Best of George Thorogood & the Destroyers.[30][31][32][33]
