Bo Diddley
Bo
Diddley was a major influence on The Rolling Stones. In their early years,
the boys included many Diddley songs such as Roadrunner and Diddley
Daddy in their live performances. Bo was a special guest on the Stones
Voodoo Lounge Pay Per View Special. Ron Wood has played on two of Bo’s
records: Live At The Ritz and A Man Amongst Men which also
featured Keith Richards.
Bo Diddley was born Ellas Bates on December 30, 1928, in McComb, Mississippi.
At only 8 months of age, he went to live with his mother's cousin Gussie
McDaniel, who served as his mother from that time forward. The family
moved to Chicago when Ellas was 6 or 7 years old, where he was exposed
to the blues. He taught himself how to play a guitar and played it in a
band he joined while in school. He also played the trombone and violin.
He became the leader of a washboard band when he was seventeen.
Sometimes referred to as the Originator, Bo Diddley is certainly
in a class by himself. Disc jockeys didn't know quite what to make
of him when he burst upon the scene in 1955, with his signature tune and
infectious beat. His influence on other performers is incalculable
and seldom ever fully acknowledged. Bo was convinced by the Chess brothers
to revise the raunchy lyrics to a song called Uncle John. The tune
became Bo Diddley. It was released in April 1955 becoming an influential
rock & roll song with a Shave and a Haircut beat that became
Diddley’s trademark, as did his self-referential songs with such titles
as “Bo Diddley’s A Gunslinger”, Diddley Daddy and Bo’s A Lumberjack.
He spent most of his career on the R&B charts. His only song to
crossover into the pop charts and make the top forty there was Say Man
in 1959, which peaked at number 20.
Some of his best work can be found in his more obscure songs from
albums that he made in the 50’s. Some of these albums had titles such as
Bo Diddley and Go Bo Diddley. Who Do You Love? and Bring It To
Jerome. Bo’s powerful delivery and the pulsating rhythm of his guitar
made him much in demand. He toured with Dick Clark’s road shows, and appeared
on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In the early 60s, Bo became a icon for all the young British dudes who
were trying to make names for themselves. The Pretty Things named themselves
after a Bo Diddley song. Many other groups recorded cover versions of his
hits.
Bo quickly became more popular in the UK than he was at home. This led
to him touring the UK and recording a London Sessions album. In 1979, Bo
toured with the Clash and in 1984 took a cameo role in the film Trading
Places. Now a mainstay of the revival circuit, he is considered one of
the founders of rock ‘n’ roll He is still singing and performing, and took
his place in the Rock-and-Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987.