The Daily Chat
A chatbox where we can post comments and have discussions on artists & songs. However, if you just want to say thank you for a particular post then please continue using the usual comment box located below each post.
Assorted Best Of Jazz Volume 09 - Unfinished Business - kicks off today with Jimmy Smith, followed by Astrud Gilberto, King Curtis, Shirley Scott, Sarah Vaughan, George Benson, Junior Mance, Johnny Coles, Sonny Stitt and many others. There's certainly a leaning towards the more bluesy/R&B side of jazz today with Jimmy Smith, King Curtis, Junior Mance, Alvin Red Tyler, and brother Jack McDuff.
And the Best Of Blues, R&B, Soul & Gospel Volume 87 has a stronger than usual gospel feel today with tracks from Elizabeth King, Brother Claude Ely, Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers, The Fantastic Gospel Travelers, and Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey. However to even things out there's also Chuck Willis, The Isley Brothers, Fats Domino, Huey 'Piano' Smith & The Clowns and The North Mississippi All Stars, plus one of the greatest R&B guitar players of all time Bo Diddley, with 'I'm Bad', a true classic of Chicago blues recorded for Checker in 1956 with Jody Williams (lead guitar), Little Willie Smith (harmonica), Clifton James (drums) and Jerome Green (maracas).
It's interesting to note that when I first interviewed Bo Diddley in 1974 he corrected me when I referred to him as a 'blues singer'. Bo considered himself to be a pure rock & roll artist, in fact he went one step further and told me that he had started rock & roll, he was the first, before Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard and all the others. For me, however, it was difficult to think of him as anything but a blues/R&B artist considering his association with Chess/Checker records and sessions he had done with the likes of Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, Jody Williams and Billy Boy Arnold, along with those albums he'd made with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter.
I got to see Bo play live numerous times, however, the first time I saw him live, at Perth Concert Hall in 1974, he was in magnificent form and that show is right up there with the very best performances I've seen. The climax of the night was of course the song 'Bo Diddley', he played it for around 35-40 minutes, every few minutes slightly cranking up the tension, he had the entire audience on their feet shaking and twitching like zombies, as Bo strutted up and down the stage thumping out that infectious beat from his guitar. The song itself is basically one chord, with a few embellishments, I honestly can't think of any other guitarist who could play one chord for 35-40 minutes and have everybody in the audience screaming for more, but Bo, who frequently approached his guitar playing more like a drummer, was a master at creating driving rhythms.
I enjoy your stories, Bo Diddley was amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Frank.
DeleteInteresting story about Bo being a rock & roll singer. Like you, I've always considered him to be straight blues and r&b. Absolutely correct about Bo being the only one to be able to play one chord for so long. Or to have such an infectious beat that us old guys can instantly recognize it.
ReplyDeleteHi JakeBlues, yep Bo was a legend, and that beat was sure covered and copied by numerous others. It's interesting that when Bo first heard The Rolling Stones version of Mona, Bo said that Brian Jones was the only one who got it right.
DeleteYour Bo story was great reading, but i don't think of him when i think of who started rock and roll if there ever was such a person, great topic for a debate eh!!!!!!!!!! Mike.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike, agreed, I don't think of Bo as the man who started R&R. He had an enormous ego and an over-inflated sense of his own importance in the R&R story. As for the first, well Rocket 88, dating from 1951 is generally considered the earliest song that can be considered R&R. Then there was the July 5, 1954 recording session of Elvis at Sun Records, which is considered "The Big Bang of Rock & Roll". As you say Mike, a great topic for debate.
DeleteGreat story, Bo defo rocks!
ReplyDeleteCheers jf glad you enjoyed the Bo story.
DeleteAgreed Bob. Like many artists Bo took himself too seriously, humility is rare in the music business. Never the less he was hugely influential.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day in the UK two names were often spoken in the same breath, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. At times they seemed like rivals but both were totally unique and both were influential.
Random facts and thoughts regarding Bo Diddley:
Alan Freed, who is credited with the first use of the term "Rock'n'Roll" supposedly came out with it whilst listening to Bo. (Good subject for debate!).
He recorded Marvin Gaye before Marvin hit the big time.
He was a classically trained violinist (among other things) but broke a finger and switched to guitar at 12 years old. His sister bought him the guitar and his sisters name was.....Lucille!
Bo was an innovator in many ways, frequently using ladies on guitar. "Love Is Strange" by Micky and Sylvia was originally co-written and recorded by Bo Diddley and his (female) guitarist Jody Williams, in 1956
He called his square guitar which he built himself the Twang Machine. His last guitar was built by Australian luthier Chris Kinman and was called the Mean Machine by Diddley.
Bo has been influential in many ways and he was certainly influential with that distinctive rhythm. The only other folk that I can think of off the top of my head who came up with a similarly distinctive and influential rhythm were Jimmy Reed and Chuck Berry. Can anyone think of anyone else? Perhaps Elmore James?
Incidentally Jimmy Reed also had a female connection with his music, his wife, Mary “Mama” Reed. Chuck had female connections but I don't think they had much to do with his rhythm.
As for the first rock 'n' roll record, I'm not going there!
Hi Albert, very interesting points here, pity we're not sitting in a bar with a couple of beers in front of us, we could really go to town on this topic. Yes, Bo was hugely influential, especially in the early days, however, his importance and contribution did taper off after the 60s. "Rock & Roll"....Alan Freed may well have coined the phrase for white hit parade listeners but the term was long in use as black slang for sexual intercourse (my baby rocks me with one steady roll). Yes, correct Bo was a trained violinist who later switched to guitar. You seem to suggest that Jody Williams was female??? Jody Williams was definitely a man, he was one of Howlin' Wolf's original guitarists, and did session work at Chess. He was screwed around a bit and became bitter and retired from music for many years, then was drawn back out of retirement to record a couple of nice albums before his death in 2018. The first Rock & Roll record. Way I see it is, do we consider Rock & Roll as something that slowly evolved out of white Hillbilly and black R&B and remained merely a synthesis of those music styles. Or was Rock & Roll a brand new music/art form that erupted out of white Hillbilly and black R&B. I personally think the latter, so IMO the start was with Elvis Presley and his earliest recordings. Elvis was the big bang that gave birth to a whole new genre and a musical/social revolution among white teens all over the world. Anyway Albert, my beer glass is empty and it's your shout. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi again Bob,
Deleteyes, ignore the bit in brackets. I was going to compile a list of Bo's lady guitarists but changed my mind, should have deleted it. I hadn't heard of Jody and wasn't sure. My apologies Jody! On another subject I found this site which has some very interesting stuff.
https://pressplayandrecord.wordpress.com/page/5/
If I make it to WA I will buy you a beer!
When Bo came to Perth in 1974, Cookie Vee was advertised as coming too but at last minute she dropped from the tour, I think she was pregnant, I was sadly disappointed as I really wanted to meet her too.
DeleteThanks Bob for inviting me to your site. There's really some great music here!
ReplyDeleteAround '71 or '72 went to the local arena to try & sneak into a rock & roll revival show - Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Chubby Checker, Dovells - Chubby & band pulled up in an airport limo, the drummer let me roll in his bass drum case. I had a bag of weed & stayed back stage getting high with Chuck's band & some others. When Chuck started playing his drummer was so fucked up that he kept messing up, after shooting him dirty looks Bo came up behind him, tapped him on the shoulder & played drums on a couple of songs & then motioned to Chubby's drummer to come up. The audience I'm sure just thought Bo was jamming with Chuck - but I knew!
ReplyDeleteHi Tommy, great story, thanks for sharing.
Delete