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Bo Diddley

Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rock & blues vocalist, guitarist and songwriter (usually as Ellas McDaniel). He was also known as The Originator because of his key role in the transition from the blues to rock, influencing a host of acts, including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles, among others. He introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged electric guitar sound on a wide-ranging catalog of songs, along with African rhythms and a signature beat (a simple five-accent clave rhythm) that remains a cornerstone of rock and pop. Accordingly, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He was known in particular for his technical innovations, including his trademark rectangular guitar. (Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links To Peel[]

Peel revealed on his 22 February 1989 show that one of the first four records he bought in America in 1960 was the Bo Diddley's 'Say Man',

In 1997, Bo Diddley was one of four artists chosen by Peel to write about in a Sunday newspaper article as important musical influences (others included The Fall).[1]

Peel was a fan of traditional urban blues music and especially of those artists he called "the wild men of the blues", including the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, but the DJ described the effect of hearing Bo Diddley and others on Kat's Karavan while driving in his car in America in the early 1960s as "galvanising" (Margrave Of The Marshes, p189, Corgi, 2005). An LP by the musician was one of the first four albums Peel bought while living in Dallas.[2]. He later admitted regretting that he never saw Bo Diddley live in his prime.[3]

Shows Played[]

BO_DIDDLEY_55_Bo_Diddley

BO DIDDLEY 55 Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1955)

(The following list was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is certainly incomplete. Please add further details if known.)

1968
1969
1972
  • 18 February 1972: Mumblin' Guitar / Put The Shoes On Willy / I Said Shut Up Woman
1973
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1986
  • 29 March 1986 (BFBS): Mumblin' Guitar
  • 03 December 1986: Hong Kong, Mississippi (LP - Is A ... Lover) Checker
  • 21 December 1986 (BFBS): Hong Kong, Mississippi (LP - Is A ... Lover) Checker
1987
1988
1989
  • 24 January 1989: Mumblin Guitar (LP - Bo Diddley - Chess Masters) Stylus
  • 14 February 1989: I Can Tell
  • 01 November 1989: Scuttle Bug (LP - In The Spotlight) Checker
  • 24 December 1989 (BBC Radio East Anglia): 'Live My Life (LP-Bo Diddley In The Spotlight)' (Chess) (JP: 'I'd love to be able to play guitar like Bo Diddley, in fact, I'd like to be able to play guitar like anybody at all. Somebody did give me a guitar in fact, a couple of years ago, for my birthday, well a year and a half ago, along with a little practice amp, but our William took the practice amp for his keyboards in his bedroom and I've not seen it since. Then some other person, unnamed because they wouldn't own up to it, broke one of the strings. So it sits in my room and remains unplayed. Perhaps this'll be the year when I become a guitar hero, who can possibly say.')
1990
1991
  • 11 May 1991: Put The Shoes On Willie
  • 24 May 1991 (BFBS): Same Old Thing (album - Bo Diddley & Company) Checker
  • 14 September 1991: Don't Let It Go (LP - Go Bo Diddley) Checker
  • 15 September 1991: You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care) (LP - Go Bo Diddley) Checker
1992
  • 25 September 1992: 'Pretty Thing (LP-The Sound of Bo Diddley: Greatest Hits)' (World Music)
  • 28 November 1992: Say Man Back Again (LP - Have Guitar Will Travel) (JP: "Very possibly the most politically incorrect record of all time.")
1993
  • 04 September 1993: ‘Blues Blues (CD - Bo’s Blues)’ (Ace)
  • 04 December 1993: I Can Tell
  • 10 December 1993 (BFBS): I Can Tell (JP: 'There are two great regrets I have in my life. One, when I was about 13 years old, and I was on holiday in North Wales, desperately in love with this girl called Suzette, and she and her mate came to my room in the middle of the night, and suggested that we went bathing in the nude. And I was too scared to go, and I've regretted that, ever since then really. And the other great regret is that I never saw Bo Diddley perform live in his prime.')
  • 18 December 1993 (BFBS): I Can Tell
1995
  • 20 May 1995: Little Girl (Various Artists CD - House Rockin' Blues) Ace (JP: ‘Well now there’s some flavour for your ear if you like.’)
  • 16 December 1995: Hush Your Mouth
1996
1997
1998
  • 10 March 1998: 'Cracking Up' (LP 'Go Bo Diddley' ) London Records
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Others

Covered[]

(The list below was compiled only from the Cover Versions page of this site. Please add more information if known.)

Artist | Track | First Known Play

See Also[]

External Links[]

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