GUY MITCHELL – “Look At That Girl”
Guy goes goggle-eyed over some broad (the swaggering horns seem to demand she’s called a broad) and when he thinks he’s got your tongue wagging in time he hits you with the punchline – he’s screwing her already! You dog, Guy! “Last night I held her tight, HA HA” (in truth maybe not quite that emphatically). The song then repeats with a lady-chorus singing about how fine Guy’s girl is and the main man Mitchell doing spoken-word interjects about how he can’t believe it either. It’s not even as if the tune’s a good one: it’s a galumphing brass-led lumber which is only slightly enlivened by the first guitar solo on a No.1 hit.
3
Tom in Popular • 815 views • Share/Save
Guy is a bit full of himself on this one but I’m actually more drawn to the backing, which, if you can eradicate the horn section, shuffles along on a very bluesy beat & walking bassline – an early precursor to the rock n roll era.
In my mind, I long ago confused Tom’s reading of this song (which I have yet to hear) with his reading of “Hey Joe,” which I think works very well, insofar as “I’m screwing her already!” would be a great twist ending to the latter song…
3 seems low – sorry Guy, you most unjustly treated pop star.
I think Guy Mitchell is the handsomest of the early crop of pop stars – Croatian-American, apparently. I think this song’s twist/punchline is quite a good one really, and come on, it’s a lot more fun than another week of miserabilism from that Goth Eddie Fisher, right?
More of a saunter than a lumber, I’d say. Guy always sings as if he’s wearing his hat a rakish angle, but never moreso than on Look At That Girl. He can’t believe his good fortune, and I’m happy for the chap.