Bo Diddley (song)
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| “Bo Diddley” | |||||
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Single reissue with picture sleeve, Chess Records
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| Single by Bo Diddley | |||||
| B-side | "I'm a Man" | ||||
| Released | March 1955 | ||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||
| Genre | blues | ||||
| Length | 2:27 | ||||
| Label | Checker Records 814 | ||||
| Writer(s) | Ellas McDaniel | ||||
| Producer | Leonard Chess | ||||
| Bo Diddley singles chronology | |||||
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"Bo Diddley" is a rhythm and blues song first recorded and sung by Bo Diddley at the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago and released on the Chess Records subsidiary, Checker Records in 1955. It became an immediate hit single that stayed on the R&B charts for a total of 18 weeks, seven more weeks than its flipside (the B-side, "I'm a Man"). It was the first recording to introduce African rhythms into rock and roll directly by using the patted juba beat. It was Bo Diddley's first recording and his first hit single.[1] It is #62 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2]
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[edit] Song
The song is rhythmically similar to hambone, a technique of dancing and slapping various parts of the body to create a rhythm and song. It is lyrically similar to the traditional lullaby "Hush Little Baby". When Bo Diddley started playing with it, his electric guitar amplified the patted juba with his backup musicians on maracas and drums unifying the rhythm. This combination of rock and roll, African rhythms and sactified guitar chord shouts was a true innovation.[3]
He first titled his version "Uncle John" but before he recorded it, he changed the title to his own nick name Bo Diddly, with an "e" added to the song's title and his professional name by one of the Chess brothers.[1]
[edit] Legacy
This first single was called a "double-sided monster" by All-Music Guide reviewer Richie Unterberger.[4] "Bo Diddley" was inflused with waves of tremolo guitar, set to a children's chant. "I'm a Man" was a bump-and-grind shuffle, with a powerful blues riff woven throughout. The outcome was a new kind of guitar-based, blues and R&B drenched, rock and roll.[4]
[edit] Cover versions
The song was covered by Buddy Holly and became a posthumous hit for him, reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart in 1963. The song was also performed by Bob Seger and is on his 1976 live album, Live Bullet.
[edit] In Popular Culture
- The song is used during a musical interlude in Fritz the Cat.
- The song can be heard playing during a party in the film Hollywoodland.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Dawson, Jim and Propes, Steve (1992). What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record. Boston & London: Faber & Faber, p. 177-181. ISBN 0-571-12939-0.
- ^ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. RollingStone.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ Erlewine, Bogdanov, Woodstra (Eds) (2002). All Music Guide to Rock. Miller Freeman Books, p. 244. ISBN 0-87939-736-x.
- ^ a b Bo Diddley. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
