BarkyI have plenty of latter-day #BoDiddley songs in my collection (1996โs ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ is one of my favorites), but I never sat down to listen to his earliest work. His first two albums, ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐ and ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐, are jointly listed on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums list at #216, and after a few listens, I am convinced this guy co-invented rock and roll. #music (cont)
Nowadays, Bo is either known as one of many old-time Chicago blues guitarists, or for his 1990s Nike commercials with Bo Jackson (โYou donโt know Diddley!โ), but he was so much more. He took mid-century blues and re-engineered it for the teenyboppers. This stuff is uptempo and fun and accessible and danceable. Itโs also risquรฉ, even subversive, but not glaringly so, likely keeping it on the radio whilst allowing teenagers to snicker behind their parentsโ backs. (cont)
Itโs glaringly obvious these songs were the precursor to the first era of rock and roll from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. All those songs you might have heard on the ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ช soundtrack owe their very soul to the Bo Diddley singles that ended up on these albums. He even joined in on the early surf music trend with a later album, ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ง๐ช๐ฏโ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐บ. On top of all that, he wrote almost all of his own songs (under his childhood name, Ellas McDaniel), a rarity for the time. (cont)
The man had an amazing life. Inspired by a performance by John Lee Hooker, Bo formed his first band (the Langley Avenue Jive Cats, canโt get much better than that). He played with a slew of renowned backing musicians, including the great Otis Spann on harmonica. In 1963, he toured with the Everly Brothers and Little Richard and a little-known group of musicians called the Rolling Stones. He included very talented women in his band, even as lead guitarists (another distinct rarity). (cont)
He persuaded the Moonglows to hire a new singer named Marvin Gaye. He toured with the Grateful Dead. His music is featured in 1972โs ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ป ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต. He opened for The Clash, played Live Aid, and was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, received a tribute from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, and as near as I can tell was a fantastically nice guy to work with. (cont)
Truth be told, ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐บ/๐๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐บ is a little old-fashioned, and like other songs of that era, donโt fit in well with modern sensibilities. The beauty is in the historical relevance. These albums form the primordial origins of rock music, the first vertebrates to crawl out of the primordial slurry of Big Band crooner boredom. As such, theyโve earned my respect, and deserve to be on this list.
