Bo Diddley

We got a chance to see Bo Diddley live when he visited a few years ago, and I honestly thought we would never see him pass this way again. But I am pleased to say that wewill – for he returns in two weeks to play the ECBRF and four other gigs around Australia. And so this provides a good opportunity to cover his life and work today.

Although his hits occurred only in the very short period from mid 1950s to early '60s, Bo Diddley produced greater and more influential music than all but a handful of the best early rockers. The Bo Diddley beat — bomp, ba-bomp-bomp, bomp-bomp sometimes referred to as “shave and a haircut – four bits”— is one of rock & roll's basic rhythms, showing up in the work of hundreds of subsequent artists. One commentator has written “Diddley's hypnotic rhythmic attack and declamatory, boasting vocals stretched back as far as Africa for their roots, and looked as far into the future as rap. His trademark otherworldly vibrating, fuzzy guitar style did much to expand the instrument's power and range”.

Launch straight into his first release on Checker label, from 1955

1. Bo Diddley – 1955 – Hey Bo Diddley – Tk 1 – 2.11

Bo was born Ellas Bates on Sunday December 30th 1928 on a small farm near the town of McComb, Mississippi, close to the Louisiana border. He was adopted by his mother's cousin, and took her surname. In the mid-1930's the family moved to the south side of Chicago. Soon after, he began to take violin lessons at the local Baptist church. He studied the violin for twelve years, even composing two concertos for the instrument. For Christmas in 1940, his sister Lucille bought him his first guitar, a cheap Harmony acoustic. It was at this time that he acquired the nickname "Bo Diddley" from his fellow pupils at his high school in Chicago. He had long been fascinated by the rhythms that he heard coming from church. A frustrated drummer, he tried to translate the sounds that he heard into his own style. Gradually he began to duplicate what he did with his violin bow by rapidly flicking his plectrum across his guitar strings. "I play the guitar as if I'm playing the drums”, he once said....I play drum licks on the guitar."

He continued to practice the guitar through his early teens. Shortly before leaving school he formed his first group, a trio named The Hipsters. Upon graduation he pursued a variety of low paid occupations including truck driving, building site work and boxing, playing locally with his group to supplement his income.

In 1950 maracas player Jerome Green joined the group, followed a year later by harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold. After more than a decade of playing on street corners and in clubs around Chicago, Bo finally got the chance to cut a demo of two songs that he had written; called "Uncle John" and "I'm A Man". After various rejections from local record labels, (most notably Vee-Jay), in early 1955 he took the recordings to brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.. They suggested that he change the title and the lyrics of "Uncle John" to more reflect his own unique personality and the two songs were re-recorded on March 2nd 1955, and released as "Bo Diddley"/"I'm A Man." The single went straight to the top of the R&B charts, establishing Bo Diddley as one of the most exciting and original new talents in American music. We just played one side of this release – here is the other.

2. I’m a Man – 1955 - Hey Bo Diddley – Tk 2 – 2.58

The record is now universally acknowledged as one of the cornerstones of rock music and one of the most influential singles in history.

In that same year he appeared on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of The Town" TV show; an appearance now also regarded as the very first rock & roll performance on TV. Story re Merle Travis - 16 Tons …..

As a sideline, to give you an idea of what else was being played in mid 1955, here are the chart entry dates for a few contemporary hits:
BO DIDDLEY "Bo Diddley"/"I'm A Man" (May 4th 1955)
Bill Haley & His Comets "Rock Around The Clock" (May 14th 1955)
Fats Domino "Ain't That A Shame" (July 1955)
Chuck Berry "Maybellene" (August 1955)
Continue with hat has become George Thorogood’s signature tune:

3. Who Do You Love – 1956 – The Story of Disc 1 – Tk 8 – 2.29

Diddley was never a top seller of the order of his Chess rival Chuck Berry, but over the next half-dozen or so years, he'd produce a catalog of classics that rival Berry's in quality. "You Don't Love Me," "Diddley Daddy," "Pretty Thing," "Diddy Wah Diddy," "Who Do You Love?," "Mona," "Road Runner," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" — all are standards of early, riff-driven rock & roll at its best.

4. Mona – 1957 – The Story Of – Disc 2 – Tk 2 - 2.22

Bo has also claimed he invented Rap music back in the late 50’s – and this claim is based on the success of this next track - "Say Man," that came about almost by accident as he and Jerome Green were fooling around in the studio. This became his only Top 20 pop hit, from 1958.

5. Say Man – 1958 – The Story Of – Disc 1 – Tk 12 – 3.12

In 1958, Bo moved from Chicago to Washington DC and set up a recording studio at his home, where he recorded most of his subsequent material, including his 1960 album Gunslinger. This album has a great cover with Bo dressed up in western gear, ready to draw a set of 6 guns, guitar at his feet. First two tracks from this album ……

6. Gun Slinger – 1960 Gun Slinger – Tk 1 – 1.54
7. Ride on Josephine – 1960 Gun Slinger – Tk 2 – 3.03

While all this was going on, he was virtually unknown in UK – but by the early 60s someone in the Chess export department noticed an upsurge in Diddley orders from UK. By this time, Bo’s records weren’t selling too well in USA, so the Chess people organized a UK tour in late 1963, and the release of two albums – in April and Sept of his mid – late 50s USA releases. The 5 week tour of UK, commencing in Sept, was a huge success, Bo playing 2 shows a night, up and down the country. Words can’t adequately describe his impact – Pye records released 3 singles, 4 EPs and 4 LPs in the UK during 1964, and all his old material enjoyed a new life. For example this next track, recorded in July 1955, made the UK Top 40 Pop Charts eight years later - in late 1963

8. Pretty Thing – 1955 – The Story Of – Disc 1 – Tk 5 – 2.50

His music influenced a whole generation of British bands and in Great Britain, he was revered as a giant on the order of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. The Rolling Stones in particular borrowed a lot from Bo's rhythms and attitude in their early days, although they only officially covered a couple of his tunes, "Mona" and "I'm Alright." Other British R&B groups like the Yardbirds, Animals, and Pretty Things also covered Diddley standards in their early days. Buddy Holly covered the "Bo Diddley" track and used a modified Bo Diddley beat on "Not Fade Away"; and the Rolling Stones then gave the song the full-on Bo treatment (complete with shaking maracas), the result was their first big British hit.

9. Mr Kruschev – 1962 – The Story Of – Disc 2 – Tk 24 – 3.01

By the end of 1965, Bo was making a conscious effort to recapture both the Black listenership who had to some extent deserted him, and the white audience that was buying all of those soul records. Unfortunately, neither he nor Chess knew exactly how to go about it, and the result was a good album but one largely unheard by the public. The album was called 500% More Man in USA and Let Me Pass in UK. Jerome Greene had left his band a few months previously and the Bo Diddley sound while still recognizable, lacked the Greene maracas. Track from it ….

10. Let Me Pass – 1965 – Let Me Pass – Tk 1 -2.35

Unfortunately Bo’s popularity in UK was short lived – a second tour in 1965 was plagued by equipment breakdowns and financial disputes, and by the time of his third UK tour in 1967, he was relegated to the status of a minority artist. After 1963, he'd never write or record any original material on par with his early classics. His career as a recording artist — in commercial and artistic terms — was pretty much over.

The late 60’s – flower power/psychedelic era kept him in the background, and it wasn’t until the late 70s when his status as a ‘living legend’ developed that he again began to draw crowds to his live shows.

Track from a very successful European tour of 1984, where his old standards get a good workout ………The sax player on this track is Deick Heckstall Smith who had earlier played a big part in the success of early British blues bands led by Alexis Korner and John Mayall. Track written by Willie Dixon, first released in 1962.

11. You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover – 1984 – Vamp – Tk 5 – 3.55

In 1995 he joined up with famed British producer Mike Vernon for what was to be his ‘comeback’ album – a sort of ‘Bo Diddley and guests’ – this one with Ron Wood on slide, Billy Boy Arnold on harp and Debby Hastings on bass. The album got a Grammy nomination but was not a great commercial success. Title track …

12. A Man Amongst Men – 1995 – A Man Amongst Men – Tk 6 – 3.59

Interestingly this album also contains a pretty good ‘anti drugs’ rap number – Kids Don’t Do It


In recent years, Bo has received numerous accolades in recognition of his role as one of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll. His 1958 Chess debut LP "Bo Diddley" regularly appears on various "Top 100 Greatest Albums of All-Time" lists, and he has been inducted into virtually every Hall of Fame that exists.

Mojo magazine includes him as one of its "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All-Time".

In 2004 in a special issue to mark 50 years of rock & roll, Rolling Stone magazine named him as one of "The Immortals - The 50 Greatest Artists of All-Time".

And as recently as this year, Bo was invited to ring the Opening Bell and is welcomed by the members and employees of the American Stock Exchange in New York in a ceremony held in his honor.

Nevertheless, despite the huge contribution he has made to popular music, Bo has made it clear in a number of interviews that he thinks he has been treated poorly by music historians, and this is perhaps partly due to his truly creative period being relatively short – only 7 years, and over 50 years ago. His feelings can best be summed up in this quote: "I Opened The Door For A Lot Of People, And They Just Ran Through And Left Me Holding The Knob..."

We will go out with a pertinent novelty track from 1996 by Nashville based blues – rock band Mike Henderson & Bluebloods, which asks the very important question “what ever happened to Bo Diddley’s money?”

13. Pay Bo Diddley – 1996 – First Blood – Tk 6 – 5.05 (fade out …)

Bo’s live show at ECBRF a few years ago was memorable, and even though the then 77 yo Bo played sitting down, it was a wonderful experience hearing that Bo Diddley beat being belted out by the man himself. And if you do get to see him live this time round, look out for his band leader and bass guitarist Debby Hastings. Debby is a white, grey haired grandmotherly type, and the third female that Bo has had playing a key role in his band – and has been with him for over 20 years.