Daddy's Home (song)

"Daddy's Home" is a song by American doo-wop group Shep and the Limelites. The song was written by the three members of the band, James "Shep" Sheppard (1935–1970), Clarence Bassett (1936–2005) and Charles Baskerville. The group recorded the original version of "Daddy's Home" on February 1, 1961, and it was released on Hull Records in March 1961 with the B-side being "This I Know".

"Daddy's Home"
Single by Shep and the Limelites
B-side	"This I Know"
Released	March 1961
Genre	R&B
Length	2:47
Label	Hull
Songwriter(s)	James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Shep and the Limelites singles chronology
"I'm So Lonely" (1961) "Daddy's Home" (1961) "Ready for Your Love" (1961)

The song is considered a sequel to the Heartbeats' song "A Thousand Miles Away", with the closing line in the coda being: "I'm not a thousand miles away".

"Daddy's Home" reached no. 2 on the Billboard popular music chart in May 1961.^[1] It was kept from No.1 by "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson.^[2]

Later songs by the band were not as successful as "Daddy's Home", but still sold well.^[3][4]

Part of a song cycle

The song is an example of James Sheppard's legacy of composing of rock 'n' roll's first-ever song cycle titles, telling the story of a relationship, beginning with going home to his girl, and further twists along the way, like getting married, celebrating their anniversary, problems encountered etc. The songs that told this story cycle were famously "A Thousand Miles Away", "500 Miles to Go", both with the Heartbeats; and continued with "Daddy's Home", "Three Steps from the Altar," "Our Anniversary", and "What Did Daddy Do?" for Shep and the Limelites.^[5]

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1961) Peak position Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[6] 11 US Billboard Hot 100[7] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[8] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1961) Rank US Billboard Hot 100[9] 41 US Cash Box [10] 27

Covers

The song was covered by many artists including P. J. Proby (1970), Frank Zappa (1971),^[11] Jermaine Jackson (1972), Toots and the Maytals (Funky Kingston 1973), The Carpenters (‘’Live In Japan’’ 1974, Richard Carpenter lead), Junior English, Cliff Richard (1981) and Tim Maia (1997)

Jermaine Jackson

"Daddy's Home"
Single by Jermaine Jackson
from the album Jermaine
B-side	"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me for a Little While)"
Released	November 15, 1972
Recorded	1972
Studio	Motown
Genre	Doo-wop[12] R&B
Length	2:59
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Jermaine Jackson singles chronology
"That's How Love Goes" (1972) "Daddy's Home" (1972) "You're in Good Hands" (1973)

Jermaine Jackson covered the song for his 1972 debut solo album, Jermaine, and it was released as the 2nd single from the album. His version featured the rest of the Jackson 5 on backing vocals. The single peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 in Canada in March 1973.^[13]

Record World said of this version "Beautifully produced, this funky ballad should be a natural winner."^[14]

His version was sampled in the 1973 break-in record "Super Fly Meets Shaft" (US #31).

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1973) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 27 Canada RPM Top Singles[15] 3 Netherlands 10 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 9 U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles[17] 3 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[18] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Canada [19] 38 U.S. Cash Box [20] 45

Cliff Richard version

"Daddy's Home (live)"
Single by Cliff Richard
from the album Wired for Sound
B-side	"Shakin' All Over (live)"
Released	6 November 1981
Recorded	1 May 1981[21]
Venue	Hammersmith Odeon
Genre	Pop, Doo-wop
Length	2:55
Label	EMI Records
Songwriter(s)	James Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, Charles Baskerville
Producer(s)	Cliff Richard[22]
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"Wired for Sound" (1981) "Daddy's Home (live)" (1981) "The Only Way Out" (1982)
Music video
"Daddy's Home" on YouTube

British singer Cliff Richard released a live version as a single for the Christmas period in 1981. It was the second single to be lifted from his 1981 album Wired for Sound.

The song became an international hit reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and number 23 on US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1982 - almost twenty years after the release of the original by Shep and the Limelites. In Britain, it was certified Gold by the BPI for sales over 500,000.^[23]

A video clip was recorded to accompany the single release instead of using footage of the original BBC live recording.^[24]

Chart performance and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1981–82) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[25] 8 Canada (RPM 50 Singles)[26] 41 Finland (IFPI Finland)[27] 20 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 8 Germany (GfK)[29] 73 Ireland (IRMA)[30] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 14 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[32] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[33] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[34] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[35] 23 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[36] 3 US Cash Box Top 100[37] 22

Year-end charts Chart (1981) Position UK Singles (OCC)[38] 27 Chart (1982) Position Australia (Kent Music Report) [39] 76 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 94 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[41] 50 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Gold 500,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.