Bo Diddley
From Mississippi Wiki
|
Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928 - June 2, 2008) aka "The Originator" was an influential 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 was also known for his characteristic rectangular-shaped guitars and his eccentric, show-stopping personality.
Early life and career
Bo Diddley was born Ellas Bates in McComb, Mississippi and later took the name Ellas B. McDaniel, after his adoptive mother, Gussie McDaniel. (Note: His name often appears incorrectly on recordings and elsewhere as Otha, Ellis, Elias or Eugene McDaniel(s) or other variations.)
The family moved to Chicago when he was aged seven. 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 might also be 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 Billy Boy Arnold (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), Clifton James (drums) and Jerome Green (maracas) and released in March 1955, "Bo Diddley"/"I'm A Man" (Checker 814), became an R&B # 1 hit.
Now widely regarded as a cornerstone of rock music and one-side of the most influential double-sided debut record of all-time, the song "Bo Diddley" has been recorded or performed by countless other artists since 1955 including Allman Brothers, Animals, Astronauts, Beatles, Crickets, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Don Everly & Albert Lee, Fleetwood Mac, Connie Francis, Barry Goldberg, Guru Guru, Sammy Hagar, Tim Hardin, Ronnie Hawkins, Levon Helm & The Hawks, Robyn Hitchcock, Buddy Holly, Curtis Knight & The Squires, Buddy Knox, Janis Joplin, Cub Koda, Paul McCartney & Wings, MC5, Moody Blues, Sandy Nelson, Art Neville & The Meters, Royal Guardsmen, Bob Seger, Sir Douglas Quintet, Bruce Springsteen, Strangeloves, Taj Mahal, Maureen Tucker, Phil Upchurch Combo, Bobby Vee & The Crickets, Link Wray and Warren Zevon.
A cataclysmic celebration of manhood, the flip-side of his debut record, his song "I'm A Man", (along with the Muddy Waters' cover version titled "Mannish Boy"), is now universally acknowledged as an all-time classic of electric blues.
"I'm A Man" (aka "Mannish Boy") has been recorded or performed by many artists over the years including Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Beatles, Big Country, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, John Cipollina & Friends, James Cotton, Count Bishops, Creation, Terence Trent D'Arby, Doors, Dr. Feelgood, John Fogerty, Rory Gallagher, Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, John Hammond, Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Knight & The Squires, Cub Koda, John Lennon, Litter, John Martyn, MC5, Tony McPhee & The Groundhogs, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Remains, Rolling Stones, Royal Guardsmen, Otis Rush, Doug Sahm, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonics, Stooges, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Who, Johnny Winter, Yardbirds, Warren Zevon and ZZ Top.
In 1962, the influential songwriters and music producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote the popular song "I'm A Woman" based on the Bo Diddley 1955 hit song "I'm A Man" and the Muddy Waters' cover version "Mannish Boy".
Many of the recordings of "I'm A Woman" through the years have mixed elements of the Leiber & Stoller 1962 song "I'm A Woman" with elements of Etta James' 1956 song "W-O-M-A-N", Muddy Waters' May 1955 song "Mannish Boy" and Bo Diddley's March 1955 song "I'm A Man". Several of the recordings also credit Bo Diddley with authorship of "I'm A Woman". Artists who have recorded the song include Fontella Bass, Ruth Brown, Barbara Carr, Natalie Cole, Deborah Coleman, Christine Kittrell, Peggy Lee, Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, Maria Muldaur, Freda Payne and Koko Taylor.
Bo Diddley's sound
Bo Diddley's rhythms and chord voicings
Bo Diddley is best known for the "Bo Diddley beat", a rumba-like beat 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. He states that he came across the beat while trying to master Gene Autry's 1942 hit "(I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" on his guitar. The "Bo Diddley beat" is a unique, mixed-up rhythm that mixes blues, Latin American, hillbilly, spiritual, African and West Indian rhythms with a lot of Bo Diddley's own feelings.
The beat has been used by many other artists, notably Elvis Presley ("His Latest Flame"); U2 "Desire"; The Smiths "How Soon Is Now?" and "Rusholme Ruffians"; Johnnie Otis "Willie and the Hand Jive"; George Michael "Faith"; The Strangeloves and Bow Wow Wow "I Want Candy"; Guns N' Roses "Mr. Brownstone"; David Bowie "Panic in Detroit" and The Stooges "1969."
In his own recordings, Bo Diddley uses a variety of rhythms, however, from straight back beat to pop ballad style, frequently with maracas by Jerome Green. He is an extremely influential guitar player, instigating the use of many special effects that would prove essential to rock-n-roll, such as auto-tremolo, reverb as used by The Doors, echo popularized in surf-rock, distortion used by Jimi Hendrix, as well as other innovations in tone and attack such as string scratching, a sound produced by dragging the guitar pick the length of the guitar string as heard in his 1959 recording of his song "Road Runner."
Before the invention of the stage monitor, Bo Diddley built his own double-sided speaker cabinets, which allowed musicians on-stage to hear the sound that was projected to the audience. After attending a Bo Diddley concert with his father, a young Hartley Peavey, founder of Peavey Electronics, insisted that his father help him build his own monster amplifier for his personal use, "... like the one Bo Diddley constructed". His self-designed guitars were light-years ahead of anything that was commercially available at the time and included a guitar body recreated to look like that of a 1959 Cadillac tail fin and a fur-covered guitar.
Rhythm is important in Bo Diddley's music but harmony is also important and exercised through chord voicing and chord inversion, often mimicking choral voicing such as those heard in African-American gospel music. In the song "Bo Diddley" he mimicks the "chugging" sound of a train by playing an unfretted, or "open" hand muted E Major while the chord transition of E Major (fret 12) to D Major (fret 10) mimics the sound of a train whistle. Songs like "Who Do You Love" are seen as the precursor to heavy metal and punk rock and 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.
Bo Diddley's Guitar Tuning
Equally integral to the "Bo Diddley sound" is the fact that Bo Diddley received violin lessons as a child in his church. Diddley played violin on his mournful instrumental rock instrumental "The Clock Strikes Twelve", a 12-bar blues, but more importantly, he transferred the violin tuning or Sebastapol tuning to the guitar. His sound cannot be properly created without tuning the guitar: 1st string E (329.6); 2nd string B (246.9); 3rd string G sharp (207.6); 4th string E (164.8); 5th string A (110.0); 6th string E (82.4)
Career
Bo Diddley recorded for Chicago's Chess Records and its subsidiary label Checker, from March 1955 to late 1973. He is also notable for being the first male rock and roll performer to employ female musicians in his band; Peggy Jones (aka Lady Bo), Norma-Jean Wofford (aka Duchess) and Cornelia Redmond (aka Cookie) in the 1950s and 1960s and Debby Hastings and Margo Lewis in more recent years.
Over the decades, his show-stopping performances have ranged from sweaty Chicago clubs to worldwide concert tours. 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 recalls, "Ed Sullivan said that I was one of the first niggers 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. The Doors and comedian Jackie Mason would later join Bo Diddley on the list of performers banned from the Ed Sullivan Show.
He continued to have hits through the late 1950s and 1960s, including "Diddley Daddy" (1955), "I'm Sorry" (1959), "Crackin' Up" (1959), "Say Man" (1959), "Say Man, Back Again" (1959), "Road Runner" (1960), "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" (1962) and "Ooh Baby" (1967). He released a string of albums whose titles - including Go Bo Diddley, Have Guitar, Will Travel, Bo Diddley In The Spotlight, Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger, Bo Diddley Is A Lover, Bo Diddley's A Twister, Bo Diddley & Company and Bo Diddley's Beach Party - bolstered his self-invented legend. Between 1958 and 1963, Checker released eleven full-length albums by Bo Diddley.
In 1967, Bo Diddley joined forces with Little Walter, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf in the Chess Records studios to record the memorable pair of "Super Blues" albums of Chess classics, including "Long Distance Call", "Who Do You Love", "I'm A Man", "Bo Diddley", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", "My Babe", "Spoonful", "Diddley Daddy" and "The Red Rooster".
Bo Diddley's cameo appearances, performances and interviews on the big screen have included "The Big TNT Show" (1966), "Trading Places" (1983), "Hail! Hail! Rock & Roll" (1987) and "Blues Brothers 2000" (1998).
Television appearances have included "Shindig!" (1965), "The Mike Douglas Show" (1971), "The Kenny Rogers Show" (1972), "In Concert" (1972), "Midnight Special" (1973), "Late Night with David Letterman" (1986), "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" (1990), "It's Showtime At The Apollo" (1992), "Sesame Street" (1993), "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1996), "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1996), "The Kennedy Center Presents: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, King of The Blues" (1997), "So Weird" (2000), "According To Jim" (2003), "American Soundtrack - Rock & Roll At 50: The First Decade" (2003) and "The US Open Tennis Championships Opening Night Ceremony" (2005).
In the 1980s, he made a special cameo appearance in his good friend George Thorogood & The Destroyers' music video for the song "Bad To The Bone", performed his song "Who Do You Love" on-stage with them at "Live Aid" and also performed and recorded with Rolling Stone member and good friend Ronnie Wood on their joint worldwide "Gunslingers Tour".
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 1963 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.
Bo Diddley's lyrics are often witty and humorous adaptations of folk music themes. His first hit, "Bo Diddley" was based on the lullaby "Hush Little Baby". Likewise, "Hey Bo Diddley" is based on the folk song, "Old MacDonald." The roots of 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, but the records actually feature the insults 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".
In 1956, Bo Diddley and his guitar player Joe "Jody" Williams composed the song "Love Is Strange". Originally recorded by the popular and talented duo Mickey & Sylvia in October 1956 and credited to Bo Diddley's then wife Ethel Smith, it remains one of his most successful compositions, featuring in such hit movies as Dirty Dancing, Mermaids and Casino. The following year, Bo Diddley and Pearl Polk composed the song "Dearest" for Mickey & Sylvia's follow-up release.
In 1989, the rock music critic Dave Marsh included Mickey & Sylvia's 1956 recording of "Love Is Strange" in his book “The Heart Of Rock & Soul: The 1,001 Greatest Singles Ever Made”. The following year, "Rolling Stone" magazine listed it as one of their "50 Essential Recordings From The 50s". In 2004, Mickey & Sylvia's 1956 recording of "Love Is Strange" was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame as a recording of lasting qualitative or historical significance by the Recording Academy at the 46th annual GRAMMY Awards Ceremony.
"Love Is Strange" has since been recorded or performed by numerous artists over the years, including Caesar & Cleo, Chubby Checker, Crickets, Dale & Grace, Roky Erickson & The Aliens, Betty Everett & Jerry Butler, Chad & Jeremy, Cheech & Chong, Deacon Blue, Lonnie Donegan, Donnie Elbert, Everly Brothers, Everything But The Girl, Connie Francis, Johnny Hallyday, Buddy Holly, Ian & Sylvia, Ink Spots, Randy & Janet Jackson, Jorma Kaukonen & Vital Parts, Chaka Khan & Phil Upchurch, Maddox Brothers & Rose, Paul McCartney & Wings, KT Oslin, Buck Owens & Susan Raye, Peaches & Herb, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Johnny Thunders & Patti Palladin and Bobby Vee.
Bo Diddley's signature guitar
His trademark instrument is the rectangular-bodied Gretsch guitar that he developed and wielded in thousands of concerts over the years (although he has had other similar-shaped guitars made for him by other manufacturers). In a 2005 interview on JJJ radio in Australia, he implied that the design was born from embarrassment. In an early gig, he was jumping around on stage with a Gibson L5 guitar, when he landed awkwardly hurting his groin. He then went about designing a smaller, less restrictive guitar so he could keep jumping around.
The later years
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.
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 United Kingdom Uncut magazine included his 1958 debut album "Bo Diddley" in its listing of the '100 Music, Movie & TV Moments That Have Changed The World'.
Bo Diddley performed a number of shows around the country in 2005 and 2006, with the Johnnie Johnson Band featuring Johnnie Johnson on keyboards, Richard Hunt on drums and Gus Thornton on bass.
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]
At the beginning of 2007, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Radio 2 network broadcast "Hey! Bo Diddley", a special 3-part celebration and exploration of his life and career, narrated by The Who's Roger Daltrey.
A few weeks later, at a ceremony held in Jackson, Bo Diddley was awarded the Mississippi Governor's Award of Excellence in the Arts for Lifetime Achievement, the State's highest arts honor.
He currently resides in Archer, a small farming town near Gainesville in north-central Florida.
On November 2 2007, he traveled back to his home town of McComb for the unveiling of his Blues Marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. The plaque states he is "acclaimed as a founder of rock and roll." The day was declared "Bo Diddley Day" by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
Illness and Death
On May 17, 2007, Bo Diddley was reported 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. His mobility has not been greatly affected but communication skills have been affected. On May 21, he was moved out of intensive care to a regular ward at Creighton University hospital. He was then released from hospital and began treatment near his home in Archer, Florida.
On August 28, Bo Diddley was reported to have suffered a heart attack while undergoing a medical check-up. He was taken to the North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville where he was reported to be in serious but stable condition. He left the hospital on September 5.
Bo Diddley died of heart failure on June 2, 2008 at his home in Archer, Florida. In the days following his death, tributes were paid to him by President George W. Bush and by the US House of Representatives, as well as by countless musicians and performers, including Eric Burdon, Elvis Costello, Ronnie Hawkins, Mick Jagger, BB King, Tom Petty, Robert Plant, Bonnie Raitt, George Thorogood and Ronnie Wood. He was posthumously awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts degree by the University of Florida for his influence on American popular music and in its "People in America" radio series about influential people in American history, the Voice of America radio service paid tribute to him, describing how "his influence was so widespread that it is hard to imagine what rock and roll would have sounded like without him."
Discography
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Bo Diddley (1958)
- Go Bo Diddley (1959)
- Have Guitar - Will Travel (1960)
- Bo Diddley In The Spotlight (1960)
- Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger (1960)
- Bo Diddley Is A Lover (1961)
- Bo Diddley's A Twister (1962)
- Bo Diddley (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 - His Greatest Sides - Volume 1 (1984)
- Bo Diddley & Co - Live (1985)
- Hey...Bo Diddley in Concert (1986)
- Breakin' Through The BS (1989)
- Living Legend (1989)
- Bo Diddley: The Chess Box (1990)
- Rare & Well Done (1991)
- Live At The Ritz (with Ronnie Wood) (1992)
- This Should Not Be (1993)
- Promises (1994)
- Bo Knows Bo (1995)
- A Man Amongst Men (1996)
- Bo Diddley - His Best (1997)
- 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection - The Best of Bo Diddley (2000)
- The Essential Bo Diddley (2000)
- Moochas Gracias (with Anna Moo) (2002)
- Drive By Bo Diddley: Tales From The Funk Dimension 1970-1973 (2004)
- The Story of Bo Diddley-The Very Best of Bo Diddley (2006)
- Bo Diddley - Definitive Collection (2007)
- I'm A Man/The Chess Masters, 1955-1958 (2007) (includes previously unreleased tracks, alternate takes)
- Road Runner/The Chess Masters, 1959-1960 (2008) (includes previously unreleased tracks, alternate takes)
- Ride On/The Chess Masters, 1960-1961 (2009) (includes previously unreleased tracks, alternate takes)
Cover versions and tributes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bo Diddley's songs have been frequently covered and reworked over the years.
Recorded at the Chess Records Studio in Chicago, IL in 1957, "Before You Accuse Me" (Checker 878) was originally released as the flip side of Bo Diddley's eighth single "Say Boss Man". Thanks in part to the popularity of recordings of this song by artists including the 13th Floor Elevators, Eric Clapton and Creedence Clearwater Revival, with more than 400 different versions of the song available, it remains his most recorded composition to date. In San Antonio, TX, the hardcore/2-step/grindcore band Before You Accuse Me formed and named themselves after the song.
"Before You Accuse Me" has been recorded or performed by artists including Blodwyn Pig, Eric Clapton, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Downliners Sect, Roky Erickson & The 13th Floor Elevators, John Fogerty, Roy Gaines, Roy Head, Syl Johnson, Lonnie Mack, Magic Slim, Steve Marriott & The DTs, Delbert McClinton, John McKuen, Elliott Murphy, Nighthawks, North Mississippi All-Stars, Steven Seagal, Thee Headcoats, Toto, Derek Trucks Band and Zucchero & Buddy Guy.
Recorded at the Chess Records Studio in Chicago, IL in 1956, "Who Do You Love" (Checker 842) is another of his most popular and enduring compositions, thanks, in part, to recordings of the song by artists including The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service and George Thorogood & The Destroyers.
"Who Do You Love" has been recorded or performed by artists including Dave Alvin, Randy Bachman & Burton Cummings, Blues Magoos, Blues Project, Cheap Trick, Cipollina-Gravenites Band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Rick Danko & Jorma Kaukonen, Deep Purple, Dion DiMucci, Doors, Downliners Sect, Dr. Feelgood, Steve Earl & The Dukes, Foghat, Golden Earring, Grateful Dead, Sammy Hagar, John Hammond, Ronnie Hawkins, Roy Head, Levon Helm & The Hawks, Jesus & The Mary Chain, Juicy Lucy, Kingdom Come, Cub Koda, Mahogany Rush, Misunderstood, Van Morrison, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Robbie Robertson & Eric Clapton, Tom Rush, Carlos Santana, Scorpions, Bob Seger, Smashing Pumpkins, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Stooges, Thee Headcoats, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Johnny Thunders, UFO, Townes Van Zandt, Woolies and Yardbirds.
Recorded at the Chess Records Studio in Chicago, IL in 1955, "She's Fine, She's Mine" (Checker 819) was originally released as the flip side of Bo Diddley's second single "Diddley Daddy". Now considered a blues standard, the song was remade by Willie Cobbs in 1962 as "You Don't Love Me" and again in 1967 as "You Don't Love Me (No No No)" by regaae star Dawn Penn.
"She's Fine, She's Mine" (aka "You Don't Love Me") (aka "You Don't Love Me (No No No)") has been recorded and performed by artists including Allman Brothers Band, Band, Booker T & The MGs, Eric Clapton, Willie Cobbs, Dr. Feelgood, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, John Hammond, Kaleidoscope, Albert King, John Mayall, Tony TS McPhee, Coco Montoya, Gary Moore, Mouse & The Traps, Dawn Penn, Pretty Things, James & Bobby Purify, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Otis Rush, Savoy Brown, Sonny & Cher, Stephen Stills, Thee Headcoats, Pat Travers, Derek Trucks Band, Ike & Tina Turner, Junior Wells and George Winston.
Recorded at the Ter-Mar Recording Studio in Chicago, IL in 1962, his recording of Willie Dixon's song "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" (Checker 1019) is now widely regarded as a rhythm & blues classic.
"You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" has been recorded and performed by artists including Bryan Adams, Long John Baldry, Blues Project, Roy Buchanan, Cactus, Eric Clapton, Clash, Dion DiMucci, Bob Dylan, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jerry Garcia & Howard Wales, Johnny Halliday, John Hammond, Tim Hardin, Dale Hawkins, Robyn Hitchcock, Cub Koda, Patti Labelle, Merseybeats, Monkees, Elliott Murphy, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Pretty Things, Rolling Stones, Tom Rush, Shadows Of Knight, Thee Headcoats, Them, Derek Trucks Band, Conway Twitty, Johnny Winter and Yardbirds.
Recorded at his home studio in Washington, DC in 1961, Bo Diddley's song "Pills" (Checker 985) became an enduring live favorite of punk/new wave bands in both the US and the UK after the New York Dolls chose to include their version of the song on their influential 1973 debut album.
"Pills" (aka "Love's Labors Lost") has been recorded or performed by artists including GG Allin, Chesterfield Kings, Half Japanese, Lurkers, Coco Montoya, New York Dolls, REM, Izzy Stradlin and Johnny Thunders.
Over the past 50 years or so, around 200 songs have been written and recorded by other musicians which pay tribute to Bo Diddley and/or the "Bo Diddley beat", these include: "Where's Bo Diddley When We Need Him?" by 27 Devils Joking, "Here Comes Bo Diddley" by Edoardo Bennato, "Bo Diddley's Groove" by Blues Company, "Say Bo (Where'd You Get That Kpolongo)" by Bonedaddys, "Bo Diddley Is A Hare Krishna" by Busted Flush, "Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It" by Freddy Cannon, "Bo Diddley Is A Communist" by Eugene Chadbourne, "Ho Diddley" by Chitlin Circuitry, "Bo Knows Winter Wonderland" by Alex Coke & The Live Action Brass Band, "Bo Diddley Bach" by Sonny Curtis, "Chuck & Bo" by Elephant's Memory, "Rumblin' Guitars, Diddlin' Drums" by Emperor Stitt & The Ordinaires, "Bo Diddley Is A Headhunter" by Roky Erickson, "Bo Doodak" (aka "Bo D" & "Bo Demmick") by The Fall, "Tribute To The Bo" by Fate, "Bo Diddley Meets Sandy Nelson" by Final Solution, "Stand Fast, Bo Diddley" by Fish & Roses, "I'm A Bad Bo Diddley" by Garage Charlie, "Bo Diddley's Money" by Tim Gaze & Rob Grosser, "Bo Diddley Pulled A Boner" by Gibson Bros., "I Ain't Bo Diddley" by Mickey Gilley, "Bo Diddley Went To Italy" by Trutz "Viking" Groth, "The Night Bo Diddley Came To Town" by Hi-Risers, "Bo Diddley Is Jesus" by Jesus & Mary Chain, "Bo Diddley On The Catwalk" by Robert Johnson & The Punchdrunks, "Bo Diddley Beat" by K3, "Bo Diddley Meets The Martians" by Karate Explosion, "Bo Diddley Goes East" by King Kurt, "Bo Diddley Is A Limerick Writer" by Locomotives, "I Know Bo Diddley" by Hamilton Loomis, "Bo Diddlius" by Milkshakes, "Bo-Did-It" by Monterays, "Bilbao Bo Diddley" by Elliott Murphy, "Bo Diddley In Ontario" by Nationals, "I Like Bo Diddley" by Lyndon Needs, "Bo Diddley Didn't Know" by New Flamingos, "The Day I Saw Bo Diddley In Washington Square! by Willie Nile, "Magic Man" by Omar & The Howlers, "The New Bo Diddley" by Johnny Otis, "Hey! Bo" by Permanent Voltage, "The River (Bo Diddley Tribute)" by Ed Phipps, "Double-O Bo" by Pink Floyd, "Bo Diddley Goes Ape" by Rumblers, "Tribute to Bo Diddley" by Rusty Chainsaw, "Blues For Bo Diddley" by Paul Schaffer, "Bo Did It (Tribute to Bo Diddley)" by Dr. Hans-Willi Schroiff "McComb, Mississippi" by George "Harmonica" Smith, "Pay Bo Diddley" by Snakes, "Your Candy Man Surfs Just Like Bo Diddley" by Sonic Surf City, "Bo Diddley Jam" by Spacemen 3, "I'm Goin' Back (Bo Diddley Rocker)" by Bruce Springsteen, "Hey Mr. Diddley" by Suicide Doors, "Rhythm Gladiator (Tribute to Bo Diddley)" by Them Junko King Hats, "Bo Diddley On The Planet Of The Apes" by TR6, "Bo Diddley Santa Claus" by Tractors, "Ellas" by Moe Tucker, "Bo Diddley (Guitar Slingin' Man)" by Joey Welz, "Bubble Bo Diddley" by Westworld, "Thank Bo Diddley" by Richard Younger and "Don't Diddley" by Zoobombs.
Over the years, there have been a number of Bo Diddley tribute albums released, these include: "Bo Did It!" by Various Artists (1989), "Cub Digs Bo" by Cub Koda (1991), "WOAH! Bo In Thee Garage" by Thee Headcoats (1991), "Bo Diddley Beats" by Various Artists (1992) and "Hey Bo Diddley-A Tribute!" by Various Artists (2002).
A number of bands around the world have named themselves after Bo Diddley and his songs, these include: Before You Accuse Me (San Antonio, TX), BoDeans (Milwaukee, WI), Bodeco (Louisville, KY), Bo Diddley Head Hunters (Ontario, Canada), Bo Gumbos (Kyoto, Japan), Bo Street Runners (Harrow, Middlesex, England), Crow Diddley (Clarksdale, MS), Del Monas (Chatham, Kent, England), Diddley Daddies (Melbourne, Australia), Pretty Things (Sidcup, Kent, England) and Roadrunners (Liverpool, England).
In celebration of rock and roll's 50th anniversary, musician Iggy Pop listed Bo Diddley as one of The Immortals in Rolling Stone magazine.
See also
- Chicago Blues Festival
