From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the singer. For the album, see Bo Diddley (album). For the song, see Bo Diddley (song).

Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley in Wolfsburg, Germany, 2004
Background information
Birth name	Ellas Otha Bates
Also known as	Ellas McDaniel
Born	December 30, 1928 (1928-12-30) (age 78)
Origin	McComb, Mississippi, USA
Genre(s)	rock and roll, R&B, Blues
Occupation(s)	vocalist, guitarist
Instrument(s)	guitar
Years active	since 1951
Label(s)	Checker Records, Chess Records

Bo Diddley (born December 30, 1928) aka "The Originator", is an influential American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is often cited as a key figure in the transition of blues into rock and roll, by introducing more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard edged guitar sound. He is also known for his characteristic rectangular guitar.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 The Bo Diddley beat and guitar 3 Success in the 1950s and 1960s 4 The later years 5 Cover versions and tributes 6 2007 illness 7 Discography 8 Notes 9 See also 10 External links

He was born Ellas Otha Bates^[1] in McComb, Mississippi, and was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin, Gussie McDaniel. He took her surname, becoming Ellas McDaniel. The family moved to Chicago when he was seven.^[2] He took violin lessons as a youth, but was given a guitar by his sister and was inspired to become a guitarist by seeing John Lee Hooker.

He worked as a carpenter and mechanic, but also began a musical career playing on street corners with friends, including Jerome Green (c.1934-1973), as a band called the Hipsters (later the Langley Avenue Jive Cats). In 1951 he landed a regular spot at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side with a repertoire influenced by Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. He adopted the stage name Bo Diddley, which is probably a southern black slang phrase meaning "nothing at all", as in "he ain't bo diddley". Another source says it was his nickname as a teenage Golden Gloves boxer. The nickname is also linked to the diddley bow, a one-stringed instrument used in the south by mainly black musicians in the fields.

In late 1954, he teamed up with harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold, drummer Clifton James and bass player Roosevelt Jackson, and recorded demos of "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley". Re-recorded at Chess Studios with a backing ensemble comprising Otis Spann (piano), Lester Davenport (harmonica), Frank Kirkland (drums) and Jerome Green (maracas), and released in March 1955, the a-side, "Bo Diddley", became an R&B # 1 hit.

Bo Diddley is best known for the "Bo Diddley beat", a rumba-like beat (see clave) similar to "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes. Diddley came across the beat while trying to play Gene Autry's "(I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle". ^[3] Three years before Bo's "Bo Diddley," a song that closely resembles it, "Hambone," was cut by Red Saunders' Orchestra with The Hambone Kids.

In its simplest form, the Bo Diddley beat can be counted out as a two-bar phrase:

One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four and

The bolded counts are the clave rhythm.

Rhythm is so important in Bo Diddley's music that harmony is often reduced to a bare simplicity. His songs (for example, "Hey Bo Diddley" and "Who Do You Love?") often have no chord changes; that is, the musicians play the same chord throughout the piece, so that excitement is created by the rhythm, rather than by harmonic tension and release. In his own recordings, Bo Diddley used a variety of rhythms, however, from straight back beat to pop ballad style, frequently with maracas by Jerome Green.

He was also an influential guitar player, with many special effects and other innovations in tone and attack. Bo Diddley's trademark instrument is the rectangular-bodied Gretsch nicknamed "The Twang Machine" (although he has had other similar-shaped guitars made for him by other manufacturers), a guitar that he developed himself around 1958 and wielded in thousands of concerts over the years. In a 2005 interview on JJJ radio in Australia, Bo implied that the design was born from embarrassment. In an early gig, while jumping around on stage with a Gibson L5 guitar, he landed awkwardly hurting his groin. He then went about designing a smaller, less restrictive guitar so he could keep jumping around. He also plays the violin, which is featured on his mournful instrumental "The Clock Strikes Twelve", a 12-bar blues.

His lyrics are often witty and humorous adaptations of folk music themes. "Bo Diddley" was based on the lullaby "Hush Little Baby". Likewise, "Hey Bo Diddley" is based on the folk song, "Old Macdonald". The rap-style boasting of "Who Do You Love", a wordplay on hoodoo, used many striking lyrics from the African-American tradition of toasts and boasts. His "Say Man" and "Say Man, Back Again" have been connected with rap as both share a strong connection to the insult game known as the dozens, for example "You got the nerve to call somebody ugly, why you so ugly the stork that brought you into the world ought to be arrested".^[4]

On November 20, 1955, he was the first African-American to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, only to infuriate him ("I did two songs and he got mad." Bo Diddley later recalled, "Ed Sullivan said that I was one of the first colored boys to ever double-cross him. Said that I wouldn't last six months."). Bo Diddley was asked to sing Tennessee Ernie Ford's hit "Sixteen Tons", but when he appeared on stage, he sang his #1 R&B hit "Bo Diddley." He was banned from further appearances.

He continued to have hits through the late 1950s and 1960s, including "Pretty Thing" (1956), "Say Man" (1959) and "You Can't Judge a Book By the Cover" (1962). He released a string of albums whose titles - including Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger and Have Guitar, Will Travel - bolstered his self-invented legend. Between 1958 and 1963, Checker released eleven full-length albums by Bo Diddley. Although Bo Diddley was a breakthrough crossover artist with white audiences, appearing on the Alan Freed concerts, for instance, he rarely tailored his compositions to teenage concerns. The most notable exception is probably his album Surfin' with Bo Diddley, which featured "Surfer's Love Call", and while Bo Diddley may never have hung ten in his baggies to catch the big wave, he was definitely an influence on surf guitar players.

In 1963 he starred in a UK concert tour with The Everly Brothers and Little Richard. The Rolling Stones, still unknown, were much lower on the same bill. Over the decades, his performances have ranged from sweaty Chicago clubs to rock and roll oldies tours and even as an opening act for The Clash and a guest for the Rolling Stones. On March 28 1972, he played with The Grateful Dead at the Academy of Music in New York City. This concert was released for the Dead's Dick's Picks live album series as Volume 30.

In addition to the many songs identified with him, he wrote the pioneering pop tune "Love Is Strange" for Mickey and Sylvia under a pseudonym.

Bo Diddley was one of the first musicians to have women in his band; Peggy Jones (aka Lady Bo, b.1940), Norma-Jean Wofford (aka The Duchess, c.1942-2005) and Cornelia Redmond (aka Cookie). He also set up one of the first home recording studios.^[2]

In recent years, Bo Diddley has received numerous accolades in recognition of his role as one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. In 1986, he was inducted into the Washington Area Music Association's Hall of Fame. The following year saw his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. The following years saw his 1955 recording of his song "Bo Diddley" inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as a recording of lasting qualitative or historical significance and he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

The start of the new millennium saw Bo Diddley inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame and into the North Florida Music Association's Hall of Fame. In 2002, he received a Pioneer in Entertainment Award from the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and a Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) Icon Award in recognition of his many contributions to contemporary music.

In 2003, tribute was paid to Bo Diddley in the United States House of Representatives by Hon. John Conyers, Jr. of Michigan, who described him as "one of the true pioneers of rock and roll, who has influenced generations".

In 2004, Mickey and Sylvia's 1956 recording of his song "Love Is Strange" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as a recording of qualitative or historical significance and he was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #20 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[5].

In 2005, Bo Diddley celebrated his 50th anniversary in music with successful tours of Australia and Europe and with coast to coast shows across North America. He performed his song "Bo Diddley" with Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 20th annual induction ceremony and in the UK, Uncut magazine included his 1958 debut album "Bo Diddley" in its listing of the '100 Music, Movie & TV Moments That Have Changed The World'.

In 2006, Bo Diddley participated as the headliner of a grass-roots organized fundraiser concert, to benefit the town of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, which was devastated by the Hurricane Katrina. The 'Florida Keys for Katrina Relief' was originally set for 23 October 2005, but Hurricane Wilma barreled through the Florida Keys on October 24 causing flooding and economic mayhem. In January 2006 the Florida Keys had recovered enough to host the fundraising concert to benefit the more hard hit community of Ocean Springs. When asked about the fundraiser Bo Diddley stated, "This is the United States of America. We believe in helping one another." See the video at [1]

He spent many years in New Mexico, not only as a musician, but as a law officer. He lived in Los Lunas from 1971 to 1978 while continuing his distinguished musical career. Bo Diddley served for two and a half years as Deputy Sheriff in the Valencia County Citizens' Patrol; during that time he personally purchased and donated three highway patrol pursuit cars.

He currently resides in Archer, Florida, a small farming town near Gainesville, Florida where he attends a born again Christian church with some of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He continues to tour around the world, and as of the summer of 2006 was planning to record some faith-based songs, at least some of which would be utilizing his own original music.

Bo Diddley performed a number of show around the country in 2005 and 2006, with the Johnnie Johnson Band featuring the great Johnnie Johnson on keys, Richard Hunt on drums and Gus Thornton on bass.

The Bo Diddley beat has been used by many other artists, notably Elvis Presley ("His Latest Flame"); U2 ("Desire"); The Smiths ("How Soon Is Now?"); Johnnie Otis ("Willie and the Hand Jive"); George Michael ("Faith"); The Strangeloves ("I Want Candy"); Guns N' Roses ("Mr. Brownstone"); David Bowie ("Panic in Detroit"); The Police ("Deathwish") and The Stooges ("1969"). The early The Rolling Stones sound was strongly associated with their versions of "Not Fade Away" and "I Need You Baby (Mona)".

His own songs have been frequently covered. The Animals and Bob Seger both recorded "The Story of Bo Diddley". The Who, The Remains and The Yardbirds covered "I'm a Man"; whilst The Woolies, George Thorogood and Juicy Lucy had hits with "Who Do You Love", which was also covered by Quicksilver Messenger Service; and was a concert favorite of The Doors. Diddley's "Road Runner" was also frequently covered, including by Humble Pie and The Who in concert, and on Aerosmith's Honkin' on Bobo album. Guru Guru - a popular Krautrock band - performed "Bo Diddley" on their live album Essen 1970, though the track cuts off rather abruptly at the twelve minute mark. Both Eric Clapton and Creedence Clearwater Revival covered "Before You Accuse Me". Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker counts Diddley as one of her chief influences and covered 'Bo Diddley' on her solo album Life In Exile After Abdication.

Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" (originally "Manish Boy") was an adaptation of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" and also an answer song, the title being Muddy Waters' take on his younger rival. "Say Man" was Bo Diddley's only Top 40 hit. David Lindley recorded a tribute song entitled "Pay Bo Diddley". The Jesus and Mary Chain covered "Who do you love" on their 12" "April skies" in 1987 and in the same year recorded a tribute song "Bo Diddley is Jesus" on a 2x7". Elliott Murphy used both his name and beat in his song "Bilbao Bo Diddley". Ronnie Hawkins recorded and covered "Hey Bo Diddley", "Bo Diddley" and "Who Do You Love" during his many recording sessions, including those with his backing band of the time, The Hawks, who later became known as The Band. The Finnish rock/blues band Max on the Rox also covered Who Do You Love in their second album, Rox II.

Diddley was also very popular by proto-punk musicians and later in the punk scene. For example both the New York Dolls and The Lurkers recorded their own version of his song "Pills", and Diddley was the opening act on The Clash's first US tour.

Bo Diddley's song "Who Do You Love" can be heard sung by Bo and played by Los Lobos, in the intro credits to the movie La Bamba.

He also appeared on a 2003 episode of the sitcom According to Jim entitled "Bo Diddley"

He also had a small role as a pawnbroker in the 1983 film Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

On May 17, 2007, Bo Diddley was reported ^[6] to be in intensive care in Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, following a stroke during a concert at Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 13. He has a history of hypertension and diabetes, and tests indicated that the stroke affected the left side of his brain, impairing his speech and speech recognition. A spokeswoman said there were no further details on his condition, or how long he would be in hospital. A later report indicated that Diddley was in "guarded" condition.^[7]

While recovering from the massive stroke and heart attack, he came back to his home town of (McComb) for the unveiling of a plaque, on the National Blues Trail devoted to him. The plaque stated he was "acclaimed as a founder of rock and roll." He was not supposed to perform but as he listened to the music of local musician Jesse Robinson, who sang a song written for this occasion, Robinson sensed Bo Diddley wanted to perform and handed him a microphone. This was the first time Bo Diddley performed publicly since his stroke and heart attack.^[8]

• Bo Diddley (1958)
• Go Bo Diddley (1959)
• Have Guitar-Will Travel (1960) [2]
• Bo Diddley in the Spotlight (1960)
• Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger (1960) (Checker 2977) Album Cover
• Bo Diddley Is a Lover (1961)
• Bo Diddley's a Twister (1962)
• Bo Diddley Deagles (1962)
• Bo Diddley & Company (1962)
• Surfin' with Bo Diddley (1963)
• Bo Diddley's Beach Party (1963)
• Bo Diddley's 16 All-Time Greatest Hits (1964)
• Two Great Guitars (with Chuck Berry) (1964)
• Hey Good Lookin' (1965)
• 500% More Man (1965)
• The Originator (1966)
• Super Blues (with Muddy Waters & Little Walter) (1967)
• Super Super Blues Band (with Muddy Waters & Howlin' Wolf) (1967)
• The Black Gladiator (1970)
• Another Dimension (1971)
• Where It All Began (1972)
• Got My Own Bag of Tricks (1972)
• The London Bo Diddley Sessions (1973)
• Big Bad Bo (1974)
• 20th Anniversary of Rock & Roll (1976)
• I'm a Man (1977)
• Ain't It Good To Be Free (1983)
• Bo Diddley & Co - Live (1985)
• Hey...Bo Diddley in Concert (1986)
• Breakin' Through the BS (1989)
• Living Legend (1989)
• Rare & Well Done (1991)
• Live at the Ritz (with Ronnie Wood) (1992)
• This Should Not Be (1993)
• Promises (1994)
• A Man Amongst Men (1996)
• Moochas Gracias (with Anna Moo) (2002)
• Dick's Picks #30 (1972 5-song Live Session with The Grateful Dead) (2003)

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.(December 2006)

• Chicago Blues Festival

• Authorized Website Bo Diddley-The Originator
• Discography Albums & Singles StarPulse.com/Music/Diddley, Bo
• Who 2