"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston. It was a signature song of the music hall star Harry Champion. Joe Brown included the song on his first album A Picture of You in 1962. But in 1965, it became the fastest-selling song in history to that point when it was revived by Herman's Hermits, becoming the group's second number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, dethroning " Satisfaction". Despite that success, the single was not released in the UK. The song is one of the shortest number one singles in the US of all time. In the well-known chorus, Henery explains that his wife had been married seven times before:
I'm 'Enery the Eighth, I am, 'Enery the Eighth I am, I am! I got married to the widow next door, She's been married seven times before And every one was an 'Enery She wouldn't have a Willie nor a Sam I'm her eighth old man named 'Enery 'Enery the Eighth, I am!
However, in the Hermits' version, Peter Noone ends each chorus with "I'm her eighth old man, I'm 'Enery" and never sings "named".
Harry Champion version
According to one source, Champion "used to fire off at tremendous speed with almost desperate gusto, his face bathed in sweat and his arms and legs flying in all directions." In later versions recorded by Champion, "Willie" is changed to "William" because the former is a British slang term for "penis."
Herman's Hermits version
The rock and roll styling of the song gave Herman's Hermits their second US No. 1 hit. In their short and fast take of the song, the guitar and bass are considered proto-punk and were a direct influence on the Ramones. They performed the song on Hullabaloo as well as The Ed Sullivan Show. This version was also performed on the third season premiere of The Jimmy Dean Show with Jimmy Dean and Jim Henson's Rowlf the Dog wearing wigs, three months after Herman's performance on Sullivan.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Other versions
In 1961, this song was recorded and extensively performed live by the British star Joe Brown, who revived the song and made it largely known in the British pop world. His version has two choruses either side of his guitar solo. He performs it live still today. Connie Francis recorded a version for her 1966 album Connie Francis and The Kids Next Door.
Title and lyrics
The song is traditionally sung in a Cockney accent. Earlier sources usually spell the name "Henery", and the music requires the name "Henery" to be pronounced as three syllables. The sheet music for the 1965 Herman's Hermits revival, however, presented the name as "Henry", as do sources referring to this version. In the Herman's Hermits version, the band sings the lyrics three times. Between the first two choruses, Peter Noone calls out, "Second verse, same as the first!". The background singers on the version recorded by Connie Francis use this call as well.
In the film Ghost, Sam sings this song on a continuous run in a bad Cockney London accent all night long, to Oda Mae Brown to annoy her into helping him.
Homer Simpson sings a parody in The Simpsons episode "Margical History Tour".
