Bo Diddley’s self-titled debut album, released in 1958 on The Chess Records label, is a compilation of singles recorded between 1955 and 1958.
This album is an even dozen of Bo Diddley's greatest recordings. There are songs about the man himself on "Diddley Daddy" and "Hey! Bo Diddley", an atypical exercise in credit-sharing on "Bring it to Jerome", some straight-up Chicago blues on "I'm a Man,", "Before You Accuse Me"and "Say Boss Man", the first rock 'n' roll song with more or less psychedelic lyrics on "Who Do You Love?", the guttural growls of "Dearest Darling," and the outright sexism of "Hush Your Mouth" and "Pretty Thing."Bo Diddley didn’t invent his signature beat; it’s an ancient African rhythm that had been used in American music for at least a decade before Bo transformed it into his own. He became synonymous with this rhythm because most of his best songs feature it, and the entire rock world adopted it to some extent due to these songs.
Without Bo’s early singles, a significant portion of rock music wouldn’t exist.
The so-called "Bo Diddley Beat" (a two-measure syncopated feel often counted as shave-and-a-haircut, two-bits, or mathematically as a 3-2 clave accent profile), was also the forerunner of disco, funk, hip-hop, house, techno, and every other beat-crazed genre that has dominated U.S. popular music since the middle 1970s. Bo's penchant for naming songs after himself has paved the way for countless rappers.
Bo Diddley's influence is immeasurable.
Ellas Otha Bates a.k.a. "Bo Diddley" let Elvis be the King, Little Richard be the Queen, and Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry be prancing princes looking for underage "skirts". Bo didn't give a flying squirrel he namechecked himself in his songs all he wanted to — he knew he was the man.
Today's freeload is 24-bit/192 kHz (180-gram) vinyl rip of the Chess Acoustic Sounds Series, released this past March.
For the freeload, tell us who's your favorite first-generation rock and roll star?
It's hard to beat Bo Diddley, for the reasons that you cite. I like Little Richard more than Jerry Lee. James Brown was doing great stuff in the second half of the fifties.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say whether or not what's on this release comes from the original analog tapes as claimed on the sticker. "Most" (whatever that means) Chess original masters were destroyed in a big fire at Universal years ago.
Chuck Berry, most likely.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with a guy that preferred being called The Queen. Thanks Babs
Gotta go with the king of the 9th Ward, Fats Domino.
ReplyDeleteLittle Richard by a nose, with Fats, Chuck, and Jerry Lee clustered in a pack right behind him.
ReplyDeleteLittle Richard Penniman rocked the hardest. Professor Longhair predated Fats. Chuck Berry was the poet. Jerry Lee didn't hit his stride until he gave up rock n roll for country.
ReplyDeleteHave to say Elvis & Fats D.
ReplyDeleteLittle Richard followed closely by Berry & JLL...but "Who Do You Love" is about as good as it gets, no? Not sure the lyrics are psychedelic--psycho, mebbe--but they are pretty damn e-vile, in the best sense (like da brudders were stoopid).
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