By: Billy Gee
Here we are once again, fellow Rock ‘n’ Rollers! Just as soon as you can find a chair, we’ll get this show on the road.
This time around, let’s talk about one of the lesser-known forefathers of Rock…a notable guitarist/vocalist/songwriter of considerable talent who, paved the way for the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Elvis. He is often cited as a major figure in the transition from R&B to Rock ‘n’ Roll. I’m talkin’ ‘bout none other than the incomparable, Mr. Bo Diddley!
Born Ellas Bates on December 30, 1928 in McComb, MS, he later took the surname McDaniel, after his mother’s cousin, Gussie McDaniel, adopted him. In the mid-1930’s, during a mass exodus of blacks to Northern urban cities, his family moved to the south side of Chicago. Shortly thereafter, he embarked on a twelve-year study of the violin at the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church with Professor O.W. Frederick. His mastery of music fundamentals became glaringly self-evident when a youthful Ellas composed two violin concertos. He is said to have been inspired by having listened to veteran blues man, John Lee Hooker; but his musical life was changed forever when, during December, 1940 his sister, Lucille, bought him his first guitar. It was at about this same time that he acquired the nickname “Bo Diddley.” The name is said to be a southern black slang phrase, meaning “nothing at all” (e.g. “You don’t know bo diddley!”)
Even as a student at the Foster Vocational High School in Chicago, Bo Diddley was fascinated by the rhythms he heard In sanctified churches. Explaining his rhythmic approach to the guitar he says, I play the guitar as if I’m playing the drums…I play drum licks on the guitar.”
Practicing the guitar through adolescence, just before finishing high school, he formed his first group—The Hipsters—who later became known as the Langley Avenue Jive Cats. Upon graduation he sustained himself, working a series of low-paying jobs—truck driving, construction work, and boxing. But through it all, he managed to continue the pursuit of his musical goals, playing with his group whenever the opportunity came along.
Between 1950 and 1951 maracas player, Jerome Green and harmonica player, Billy Boy Arnold joined Bo’s group. After ten years of playing on Chicago street corners and local clubs, he finally made some headway. Although two of his demos (“Uncle John” and “I’m A Man”) were rejected by Vee-Jay records, in the spring of 1955, Phil and Leonard Chess of Chess Records fame gave Bo Diddley his first big break! The Chess Brothers suggested that he change the title and the lyrics to “Uncle John,” and the result was the hit that we old-time Rock ‘n’ Rollers know as “Bo Diddley.”
The “Bo Diddley beat” that he became widely known for was a rhumba-based rhythm, containing the Latin-American clave (like the “ding, ding, ding—ding, ding” that you hear played by a cow bell in bar 3 of The Diamonds “Little Darlin’”) Another rhythmic influence was what was known in black neighborhoods as “hambone”—a beat formed by slapping and patting one’s arms, chest, legs, and cheeks. The rhythm sounds much like the phrase, “Shave and a haircut—two bits,” repeated ad infinitum.
On November 20, 1955 Bo Diddley made history by being the first African-American to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan was displeased when Bo sang his No. 1 hit, “Bo Diddley,” instead of “Sixteen Tons,” a Tennessee Ernie Ford hit that Sullivan requested. Subsequently, he was banned from any future appearance on the Sullivan show.
Emphasizing rhythm in his songs, Bo Diddley (who, as a young man incidentally, bore a striking resemblance to Ben E. King of “Stand By Me” fame) paid far less attention to the harmonic aspects of his music than other artists. His most popular recordings consisted of one-chord vamps (“grooves”) that would literally last for the entire recording!
Bo Diddley’s lyrics are often quite humorous. His “Say Man” (his only Top 40 hit) and “Say Man, Back Again” feature a dialogue of insults, known in black communities as “playing the dozens.”
In addition to having been a crossover artist with white audiences, performing on the Alan Freed Rock ‘n’ Roll concerts, Bo Diddley’s other accomplishments include a writer’s credit (under a pseudonym) on Mickey & Sylvia’s seminal R&B hit, “Love Is Strange.” In 1987 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and shortly afterwards his 1955 recording of “Bo Diddley” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as a “Recording of Lasting Qualitative Or Historical Significance,” and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards Ceremony.
I could go on and on about this astonishingly talented musician, but I can see that it’s time to wrap it up for this class. Until next time, why not share the knowledge and experience that is yours with someone who wants to learn. You’ll both feel better as a result. Class dismissed!