Originally, a song written and recorded in 1962, but was covered by a member of the world’s most successful band in 1987. He had heard the song during a visit to his sister in the United States in 1963, five months before his band first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
This song happened to be the No. 1 single in the US the week immediately preceding the induction of his band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making this artist one of the few inductees to have an active single on the US record charts at the time of induction.
Before recording today’s song, this icon looked for a producer who could carry some of the load and not be intimidated by working with a former member of his huge band. He connected with Jeff Lynne of ELO and It ended up being a great fit. Lynne's voice can be heard in the backing vocals of this song’s chorus. Along with Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty, and Lynne, today’s singer formed The Traveling Wilburys in 1988.
Today’s artist was ranked number 11 on Rolling Stone’s "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – as a member of the Beatles in 1988, and posthumously for his solo career in 2004.
Two music videos were released for today’s song.The first stars Buffy The Vampire Slayer Actor Alexis Denisof trying to win the heart of a girl in an amusement arcade. The second video, inspired by Evil Dead II, shows today’s singer playing a guitar while seated in a study and all of the furniture and nicknacks in the room including a stuffed squirrel, sentient chainsaw, and mounted stag begin to sing or dance along with the song. In the middle of the video, the singer performs a backflip from his chair and follows it with a dance routine before jumping back to his seat.
The second video received significant airplay and was nominated for three MTV VMAs
A lot of his work was well off the mainstream, using unusual instruments and based on Indian music. This song proved that he could release a song requiring very little thought (CLIP) and send it up the charts. As you might expect, many of his hard core fans can't stand this song.