B-side "I'm a Man" Format 7" 45 rpm, 10" 78 rpm | Released April 1955 (1955-04) Length 2:27 | |
Recorded March 2, 1955, Universal Recording Studios, Chicago, Illinois Genre Rhythm and blues, rock and roll | ||
"Bo Diddley" is a rhythm and blues and rock and roll 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, 2 of those weeks at #1, and 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. The song is featured on many of Bo Diddley's compilation albums including His Best.
Contents
- Song
- Reception
- Legacy and awards
- US 710 Single
- UK 7 EP
- UK 7 Single
- Buddy Holly version
- Recording
- Charts
- Other versions
- References
In 2012 the A and B-side pair were added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" American sound recordings.
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 sanctified guitar chord shouts was a true innovation and is often called a Bo Diddley Beat.
He first titled his version "Uncle John" but before he recorded it, he changed the title to his own nickname Bo Diddly, with an "e" added to the song's title and his professional name by one of the Chess brothers.
Reception
Three weeks after Billboard magazine announced the release of "Bo Diddley", on April 30, 1955, the paper announced two remakes of "Bo Diddley" by the Joe Reisman Orchestra and by Jean Dinning. The Harmonicats released their own version, an instrumental, a few weeks later. "Bo Diddley" went on to become the 17th best selling R&B record of 1955, according to Billboard.
Legacy and awards
This first single was called a "double-sided monster" by All-Music Guide reviewer Richie Unterberger. "Bo Diddley" was infused 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. The song was voted #62 on Rolling Stone magazine's list, "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The song is also a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that shaped Rock and Roll" list. In 1998 "Bo Diddley" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
US 7"/10" Single
- "Bo Diddley"
- "I'm a Man"
UK 7" EP
- "Bo Diddley"
- "I'm a Man"
- "Diddley Daddy"
- "She's Fine, She's Mine"
UK 7" Single
- "Bo Diddley"
- "Detour"
Buddy Holly version
Buddy Holly recorded the song in 1956, but it was not released until the LP Reminiscing in 1963 and later became a single release.
Recording
Buddy Holly on vocals/guitar and Jerry Allison on drums recorded "Bo Diddley" at one of their earliest sessions with producer/engineer Norman Petty at his recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico, sometime in 1956. In 1962 Norman Petty overdubbed the demo of "Bo Diddley", as well as others, with the Fireballs.
Charts
The single release was one of Holly's highest-charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, reaching #4 on the week of July 10, 1963, spending a total of 12 weeks on the chart. In the U.S., the song reached #116 on Billboard magazine's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.