Bo Diddley survives today as a legendary link between the blues and rock’n’roll. His classic guitar riffs and playing technique have been copied by thousands of rock musicians around the world since the 1950s. Few other guitarists have a sound so distinctive, and his powerfully rhythmic guitar style is immediately recognisable.
Bo Diddley was born Otha Ellas Bates on December 30, 1928, near McComb, Mississippi. His mother sent him to live with a cousin, Gussie McDaniel, in Chicago in 1934, and Otha changed his name to Ellas McDaniel. Some claim that he was given the childhood nickname Bo Diddley by other boxers, when he took up the sport as a potential career alternative to being a musician. However, the name is a reversal of “diddly bow,” a primitive instrument consisting of one string attached to a board, which was often the first instrument a blues guitarist learned to play. Diddley studied violin as a child, and then taught himself to play the guitar, inspired by gospel and blues. His first band, a trio featuring a washtub bass and Diddley on guitar and vocals, started playing on the streets of Chicago in 1946. Diddley was very impressed by the sound of the electric guitars that many of the established Chicago blues players were using, but as he could not afford one from a store, he made one himself.
In the early 1950s, Diddley’s band had progressed to playing electric blues and rhythm and blues (R&B) in local clubs. Their set was rooted in the music of such blues greats as John Lee HOOKER and Muddy WATERS.
Then Diddley was signed to Chicago’s Checker/Chess label in 1955, his music fitting in well with the urban blues of the era. His first hit, “I’m a Man” backed with “Bo Diddley,” rose to No. 2 on the R&B charts in 1955, and seven other R&B hits followed between 1955 and 1962. The songs also had crossover appeal with rock’n’roll fans, and Diddley’s flamboyant image—he dressed loudly and played unique, oddly shaped guitars—added to the attraction. One of many songs in which his name featured, “Bo Diddley” is also noteworthy for its “shave-and-a-haircut-six-bits” rhythm. This syncopated shuffle with its roots in African drumming became his trademark; it is known as the “Bo Diddley beat.”
Diddley was one of the first musicians to exploit the potential of the electric guitar by experimenting with echo, tremolo, amplification, and distortion. He modernised the musical structure of the blues and set it to words and verse forms that appealed to younger African-Americans. In songs such as “Who Do You Love” and “You Can’t Judge a Book By the Cover,” Diddley’s lyrics and growling voice convey a menacing quality, which he often enhanced when performing by wearing dark glasses and a hat pulled low over his face. In addition to being a “guitarslinger,” Diddley is known as a songwriter with a gift for clever lyrics that mix urbane wit with colourful imagery.
His works have been covered live by hundreds of musicians and recorded by artists such as Buddy HOLLY and the Crickets, the Yardbirds, the ROLLING STONES and George Thorogood and the Destroyers. His “I’m a Man” evolved into Muddy Waters’ classic “Mannish Boy.” Diddley’s career has had its highs and lows, but he has continued to work, and has retained a loyal following across several generations. He opened for British punk band the Clash during a 1979 tour, played a smoking version of “Who Do You Love” for the soundtrack to the 1987 movie La Bamba, and appeared on television commercials with football and baseball player Bo Jackson. Diddley continues to perform at concerts and music festivals. A living legend, Diddley is an icon lauded by players and fans alike of blues, R&B, and rock’n’roll.
Stan Hieronymus
SEE ALSO:
BLUES; FUNK; PUNK ROCK; ROCK MUSIC; ROCK’N’ROLL.
Kiersh, Edward. Where Are You Now, Bo Diddley?
(Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1986);
White, George R. Bo Diddley: Living Legend
(Chessington: Castle Communications, 1995).
Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley;
Bo Diddley: The Chess Box; Bo’s Blues.