"A Certain Girl" is a rhythm and blues song written by Allen Toussaint, with the credit listed under his pen name Naomi Neville.
[5] A 12-inch acetate demo (co-produced by Mike Vernon) was pressed for an EMI audition [6] (released on the Yardbirds anthologies Train Kept A-Rollin' – The Complete Giorgio Gomelsky Productions (1993) and Glimpses 1963–1968 (2011)).
Produced by manager Giorgio Gomelsky, the song was planned as the A-side for the Yardbirds' first single; however, their version of "I Wish You Would" (recorded during the same session) was used instead, with "A Certain Girl" becoming the B-side.
"[13] However, music journalist Cub Koda was more indulging: "If you can get past the Andy Hardy backups, you have a pretty catchy ditty [that] must have caught the ears of Warren Zevon".
[19] Record World called it a "a hot rocker" and said that "Waddy Wachtel provides the guitar sparks and the Jackson Browne/Rick Marotta chorus is cute & catchy.
"[20] The 2002 re-release of Better Late Than Never, the 1996 debut album by The Slackers, features a cover of the song as a previously unreleased bonus track.