Bo Diddley (1955)

"Bo Diddley" is a song by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. It introduced the rhythm that became known as the Bo Diddley beat and topped the Billboard R&B chart for two weeks in 1955. The song is included on many of Diddley's compilation albums including Bo Diddley (1958) and His Best (1997). Buddy Holly recorded a version that posthumously became a #4 hit in the UK.

Composition and recording

The song is rhythmically similar to hambone, a technique of dancing and slapping various parts of the body to create a rhythm and song. Diddley's electric guitar along with his backup musicians on maracas and drums contributed to the patted juba rhythm. This fusion of rock and roll, African rhythms, and guitar was a breakthrough and became known as the Bo Diddley Beat. Lyrically, it is similar to the traditional lullaby "Hush Little Baby".

"Bo Diddley" was recorded in Chicago at his first formal session for Leonard Chess on March 2, 1955. Diddley, on guitar and vocals, was accompanied by Frank Kirkland on drums, Jerome Green on maracas, and Billy Boy Arnold on harmonica.

Buddy Holly version

Buddy Holly recorded the song in 1956, but it was not released until 1963, when it was included on the Reminiscing album and later became a single.

Holly, on vocals and guitar, accompanied by Jerry Allison on drums recorded "Bo Diddley" at one of their earliest sessions with producer and engineer Norman Petty at his recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico, sometime in 1956. In 1962, Norman Petty overdubbed the demo of "Bo Diddley", as well as other tracks, with the Fireballs.

The single release was one of Holly's highest-charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 4 on the week of July 10, 1963, spending a total of 12 weeks on the chart. In the U.S., the song reached No. 116 on Billboard magazine's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

In popular culture

Bo Diddley's recording of Bo Diddley is used in Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat (1972), during a transition scene where a black crow is snapping along with the beat. The recording was also included on the official soundtrack.