"Mona (I Need You Baby)" is a song written by Ellas McDaniel (Bo Diddley) that appeared as the B-side to his 1957 single "Hey! Bo Diddley". According to Diddley's obituary in The New York Times , "Mona" was a song of praise he wrote for a 45-year-old exotic dancer who worked at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit. The song also became the template for the Crickets's "Not Fade Away". [1]
"Mona (I Need You Baby)" has been covered by many artists, including:
- The Rolling Stones for their debut album in 1964 in the UK and on the US album The Rolling Stones, Now! in 1965.
- T. C. Atlantic with a regional hit single in 1966. [2]
- The Troggs on their 1967 album Trogglodynamite .
- Quicksilver Messenger Service for their second album, 1969's Happy Trails . It was ranked number 88 on the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone . [3]
- Grateful Dead performed the song twice - first with Bo Diddley on 25 March 1972 (released on Dick's Picks Volume 30 ) and then again on 27 October 1991 with guests Gary Duncan and Carlos Santana.
- The Roosters on their 1980 self-titled debut album.
- Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush covered "Mona" on their 1980 album What’s Next .
- Craig McLachlan & Check 1-2 covered "Mona" on their eponymous 1990 album.
- Bruce Springsteen often interpolated "Mona" as an introduction to his "She's the One" on the Born to Run tours and Darkness Tour in the 1970s.
- Bo Diddley performed "Mona" with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on March 28, 1999, at the Fillmore West.
