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St. Paul, Minn.

How 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' became a marching song

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Today's Morning Edition music is from 50 years ago today when "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," by the group Manfred Mann, was the No. 1 song on the pop charts. 'Stripes' gave it legs.

Originally, the lyric was "there he was just a walkin' down the street" when it was first recorded by a female vocal group called the Exciters.

One of the more memorable performances came when Bill Murray and Harold Ramis sang it while marching with their Army unit in the 1981 movie "Stripes." A former soldier in the newsroom reports that the cadence of the song is perfect for marching and since the movie came out real-life Army units have been using it for that purpose.