Bo Diddley

Music 34

Branden Pero

Ellas Otha Bates was born in McComb, Mississippi, on December 30th, 1928. As a child his name was changed to Ellas Bates McDaniel and he later became known as Bo Diddley.

His first effort as a musician was playing classical violin and the trombone as a young child at church. He started playing the guitar at age 12. Bo Diddley became known for his unique, retangular guitars.

In high school he formed a band called the Hipsters. It was later named the Langley Avenue Jive Cats (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Inc., 2007). They played on street corners and in various clubs in the Chicago area. In 1951 his band was regularly booked at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side.

1955 was an important year for Bo Diddley. He recorded his first two-sided single, "Bo Diddley" with "I'm a Man". This record was a huge success and topped the charts for two weeks (Rock and Roll, 2007). This is a link to the song "Bo Diddley". http://video.aol.com/video-detail/bo-diddley-bo-diddley-1955/814480390

The flip side of this record was the song "I'm a Man". It was later recorded by The Who, The Yardbirds, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm7gVvUuZkE&feature=related

Bo Diddley promoted black people and their history through his music. He combined the ritual of African music, coded slave communication, and the street games of the ghetto (Strauss, 2005). He was a young, black man who wanted to play and sing the music of his heritage to white, mainstream America in the 1950s.

The basic beat of his music was: Bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp. Bomp-bomp. Bomp-a-bomp-a-bomp. Bomp-bomp. This is an African-based 4/4 rhythm pattern which has been a constant element in rock and roll over the decades (Rock and Roll, 2007).

Music scholars have said that the roots of the “Diddley beat” can be found in West Africa before slavery and also in slaves from the deep South who played what became known as the “Hambone” rhythm on their bodies (Lankford, n.d.)

Diddley has been quoted as follows: "My people are from New Orleans, the bayou country - French, African, Indian, all mixed up - that's where my music comes from, all that mixture" (Light, 2008). He took the basic rhythmic core of the music from his African roots along with the enthusiastic church music from his childhood, and added jive talk from the ghetto streets. In these ways he promoted black people through his music and his heritage.

As a black musician Bo Diddley influenced many musicians and various forms of music that followed his initial contributions to Rock and Roll. His importance as a prime influence on Rock and Roll is acknowledged but not as celebrated as others (Strauss, 2005). Even though he had only one Top 40 pop hit, the impact of his signature "Bo Diddley beat", his guitar playing, and his songwriting were as significant as anyone's contributions (Light, 2008).

Music has continued to be influenced by the following contributions of Bo Diddley. • The "Diddley Beat"• Guitar based Rock & Roll• Rectangular shaped guitars• Tremolo guitar sound (quick repetition)• Helped introduce distortion• Stage gimmicks• High-kicking, hip-wiggling stage moves• Featured female musicians on stage

His Influence on the Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger described Diddley as an "enormous force in music (Moore-Bridger, 2008).

• Keith Richards said he experienced a sense of shock when he first heard the Diddley beat: "There was some African going on in there" (Bo Diddley's Gone, 2008).

• "He was a big influence on The Rolling Stones," said rock legend Mick Jagger (Bo Diddley's Gone, 2008)

• For their early albums, The Rolling Stones recorded versions of Diddley's "Not Fade Away" and "Mona" (Strauss, 2005).

His Influence on Elvis Presley • In 1956 a Harlem newspaper wrote about

seeing Presley perform for the first time, "he copied Bo Diddley's style to the letter" (Strauss, 2005).

• Balancing on his toes and playing a guitar above his head was picked up by Elvis Presley as well as Jimi Hendrix (Bo Diddley, 2008).

• Presley used the Diddley beat for his song "His Latest Flame" (Freedom, 2008).

His Influence on Other Musicians

• The Diddley beat can be heard in the music of some of the world's most successful musicians including Buddy Holly ("Not Fade Away"), Bruce Springsteen ("She's the One"), U2 ("Desire"), The Who ("Magic Bus"), Johnny Otis ("Willie and the Hand Jive"), Strangeloves ("I Want Candy"), and George Michael ("Faith") (Light, 2008 and Rock and Roll, 2007).

• Custom designed guitars inspired ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Chea; Trick's Rick Nielsen (Barnes, 2008).

His Influence on the Beatles

• In1964 when the Beatles first came to the United States, John Lennon was asked, "What are you most looking forward to seeing here in America?" His reply was "Bo Diddley!" (Light, 2008)

His Influence on Rap

• In 1959 his biggest pop hit "Say Man" was a laugh filled exchange of jive talk between Diddley and his maraca player, Jerome Green (Rock and Roll, 2007).

• This verbal sparring of trading insults and brags became what we know today as rap (Barnes, 2008).

• It was derived from the African-American pastime of "signifying" or "doing the dozens" (Rock and Roll, 2007).

• Diddley improvised on stage with wordplay and chatter in his some of his songs.

As an example of his influence on rap, here is a link to Bo Diddley's song "Say Man". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIWgNKUMlzM

Bo Diddley never received the riches and notoriety of most of the musicians that were influenced by his music. Many of the musicians that he influenced went on to great fame and fortune, but the same cannot be said of Diddley (Bo Diddley's Gone, 2008). He has been very outspoken about bad contracts, underpayment, and other ripoffs that denied many early rock and rollers what was due them, himself included (Rock and Roll, 2007). In 2005 he told Rolling Stone, "I was the first son of a gun out here - me and Chuck Berry. I'm the dude that Elvis copied and I'm not even mentioned...I don't know how much longer I can stand by and see somebody else get all the glory" (Light, 2008).

Despite the fact that Bo Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was rewarded for lifetime achievement at the 1999 Grammy Awards, he never felt he got his proper due. In 2003 he told the New York times, "I opened the door for a lot of people, and they just ran through and left me holding the knob" (Bo Diddley, 2008).

The man is gone but his music will live on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=979rwnVPG4A

Works Cited

Barnes, K. (2008,June 3). "Nobody did it like Diddley." USA Today. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/shastacollegelibrary. Bo Diddley: the father of rock 'n' roll (2008, Summer). "Bo Diddley: the father or rock 'n' roll." Crisis, 115 (3), pp.11-11. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/shastacollegelibrary. Bo Diddley's gone (2008, June 4). "Bo Diddley's gone, but his musical influence is eternal Father of rock 'n' roll." Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved October 30, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/shastacollegelibrary.

Freedom, J. (n.d.) "Bo Diddley, rock's pulse." The Washington Post. Retrieved November 5, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ shastacollegelibrary. Lankford, R.D. (n.d.). Black biography: Bo Diddley. Retrieved October 8, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/bo-diddley. Light, A. (2008, June 26). "Bo Diddley." Rolling Stone, 1055, pp.49-51. Retrieved October 12, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/shastacollegelibrary. Moore-Bridger, B. (2008, June 3). "Jagger leads the tributes to guitar legend Bo Diddley". Evening Standard, pp. 3. Retrieved November 5, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/shastacollegelibrary.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Inc. (2007). "Bo Diddley". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2009, from http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/bo-diddley. Strauss, N. (2005, August 25). The indestructible beat of Bo Diddley. Rolling Stone, 981, pp. 57-70.