"Speedoo" is a song written by Esther Navarro and performed by

The Cadillacs The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 chart-topper, hit "Speedoo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting Whi ...

featuring the Jesse Powell Orchestra. It reached number 3 on the U.S. R&B chart and number 17 on the U.S. pop chart in 1955. The song was featured on their 1957 album, ''The Fabulous Cadillacs''. The lead vocal was by

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fin ...

. Lyrically, the song tells of Mister Earl who acquired the nickname "Speedoo" because, when it comes to his pursuit of pretty girls, "he don't believe in wastin' time" and "he don't never take it slow". The song was included in

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981).

Other versions

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935 – March 7, 2024) was an American singer, comedian, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop duo Steve and Eydie with his wife Eydie Gormé, and for his performance as Maury Slin ...

released a version of the song as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to his 1955 single "The Chicken and the Hawk (Up Up and Away)". *

The Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band (rock and pop), band and production of phonograph records, record production company group from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York City. The group had four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

released a version of the song on their 1966 album, ''I Hear Trumpets Blow''. * Fred Weinberg released a version of the song on his 1970 album, ''The Weinberg Method of Non-Synthetic Electronic Rock''. *

The Youngbloods The Youngbloods was an American rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass, guitar), Jerry Corbitt (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano), and Joe Bauer (drums). Despite receiv ...

released a version of the song on their 1972 album, ''High on a Ridgetop''. * Brinsley Schwarz released a version of the song on their 1973 album, '' Please Don't Ever Change''. *

Ruben and the Jets Ruben and the Jets was an American rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band originated as an alias for The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, to release ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' (1968). Later, musician Rubén Gu ...

released a version of the song on their 1973 album, '' Con Safos''. *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

released a version of the song on his 1980 album, '' Borderline''. *

The Persuasions The Persuasions were an American a cappella group that formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1962, singing under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their style combined gospel, soul, early rock, and jazz into melodic five-part harmonies. ...

released a version of the song as part of a medley on the 2011

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

and

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

album, ''

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

''.

In popular culture

*The song was featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the 1990 film '' Goodfellas''. *The song was performed by The Cadillacs in the beginning of the 1998 miniseries ''

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

''. *The song was featured on the 2001 episode " Employee of the Month" of the show ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

''. *The song was featured on the 2007 episode "

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

" of the satellite radio show '' Theme Time Radio Hour''. *The song's opening lyrics were referenced in the song "Was a Sunny Day" by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, on his 1973 album, " There Goes Rhymin' Simon. In the song, Simon sings, "Her name was Lorelei/She was his only girl/She called him Speedoo, but his Christian name was Mr. Earl." Simon has often professed his affection for

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

music, and has acknowledged its influence on his songwriting ("I like doo-wop. I stick it in all the time," he said in a 2011 interview). *Song was also included in the 2010 video game Mafia 2.

References

1955 songs 1955 singles Steve Lawrence songs The Tokens songs The Youngbloods songs Ry Cooder songs Brinsley Schwarz songs {{1950s-single-stub