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Bo Diddley (1958 Album)
''Bo Diddley'' is the debut studio album by American rock and roll musician Bo Diddley. It collects several of his most influential and enduring songs, which were released as singles between 1955 and 1958. Chess Records issued the album in 1958. In 2012, it was ranked number 216 on ''Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list alongside his second album, '' Go Bo Diddley'' (1959). The ranking of the album pair dropped to number 455 in the 2020 update of the list. Critical reception AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald gave ''Bo Diddley'' five out of five stars and recommended it as one of the "few" essential albums for listeners who want to "play rock & roll, ''real'' rock & roll". Greenwald said that its 12 songs are exemplary of the Bo Diddley beat: "This is one of the greatest rock sounds that you're likely to hear, and it's all on this one record, too." In 2022, the recording was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, as a 'Classic of Blues Recording – Album'. Track listi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, George Thorogood, and The Clash. His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his use of tremolo and reverb effects to enhance the sound of his distinctive rectangular-shaped guitars. Early li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hey! Bo Diddley
"Hey! Bo Diddley" is Bo Diddley's eighth single released by Checker Records (not to be confused with the song "Bo Diddley") and was released as a single in April 1957 by Checker Records. The single's B side was " Mona" (later known as "I Need You Baby"). Recording "Hey! Bo Diddley" was recorded in Chicago, Illinois, on February 8, 1957 – the same day as "Mona". The song was produced by Diddley with Leonard and Phil Chess, and backing Diddley (vocals, guitar) were Jerome Green (maracas), and either Frank Kirkland or Clifton James ( drums). The backing vocals on the song were Peggy Jones and the Flamingos. Rhythm Like many of Bo Diddley's songs (e.g. "Bo Diddley", "Gunslinger", and " Pretty Thing") "Hey! Bo Diddley" features a Bo Diddley beat. Live versions The song was recorded either July 5 or 6 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and released on the 1964 live album, '' Bo Diddley's Beach Party'' with the Dutchess. The song was performed live with Ronnie Wood on '' Live at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Walter
Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him comparisons to such seminal artists as Django Reinhardt, Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix.Glover, Tony; Dirks, Scott; and Gaines, Ward (2002). ''Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story''. Routledge Press. His virtuosity and musical innovations fundamentally altered many listeners' expectations of what was possible on blues harmonica.Dahl, BilLittle Walter: Biography Allmusic.com. He was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, the first and, to date, only artist to be inducted specifically as a harmonica player. Biography Early years Jacobs' date of birth is usually given as May 1, 1930, in Marksville, Louisiana. He was born without a birth certificate and when he applied for a Social Security card in 1940, his birth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Boy Arnold
William "Billy Boy" Arnold (born September 16, 1935, Chicago, Illinois) AllMusic.html" ;"title="AllMusic">AllMusic biography/ref> is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Arnold is a self-taught harmonica player and has worked with blues legends such as Bo Diddley, Johnny Shines, Otis Rush. Earl Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and others. Biography Born in Chicago as one of 16 children, he began playing harmonica as a child, and in 1948 received informal lessons from his near neighbour John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, shortly before the latter's death. Arnold made his recording debut in 1952 with "Hello Stranger" on the small Cool label, the record company giving him the nickname "Billy Boy". In the early 1950s, he joined forces with street musician Bo Diddley and played harmonica on the March 2, 1955 recording of the Bo Diddley song " I'm a Man" released by Checker Records. The same day as the Bo Diddley sessions, Billy Boy recorded the self-penned "You ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.Trager, Oliver (2004). ''Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. Billboard Books. pp. 298–299. . Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 – August 14, 1990) was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings. Biography Leake was born in Winona, Missouri, United States, in 1919. Information about his early years is sparse, but in the early 1950s he joined the Big Three Trio (replacing Leonard Caston) and began his association with Chess Records, where he worked closely with bassist, producer, and songwriter Willie Dixon. Leake played piano on ''One Dozen Berrys'', Chuck Berry's second album, released in 1958 by Chess. He was then on '' Chuck Berry Is on Top;'' Leake (not Berry's longtime bandmate Johnnie Johnson) played the prominent piano on the classic original rendition of "Johnny B. Goode", as well as " Rock and Roll Music". Leake played on numerous other Chess sessions fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otis Spann
Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1930, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc concluded on the basis of census records and other official information that he was born in 1924 in Belzoni, Mississippi. Spann's father was, according to some sources, a pianist called Friday Ford. His mother, Josephine Erby, was a guitarist who had worked with Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith, and his stepfather, Frank Houston Spann, was a preacher and musician. One of five children, Spann began playing the piano at the age of seven, with some instruction from Friday Ford, Frank Spann, and Little Brother Montgomery.Harris, S. (1981). ''Blues Who's Who''. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 477–479. . Career By the age of 14, he was playing in bands in the Jackson area. He moved to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clifton James (musician)
Clifton James (October 2, 1936 – February 16, 2006) was an American drummer who was most closely associated with Bo Diddley, and played on many R&B records issued by Chess Records between 1955 and 1970. Biography Born in Chicago, one of a family of fourteen, James began playing drums as a child, and in his teens played in the bands backing Memphis Slim and Elmore James. He met Bo Diddley in 1953, and became a member of Bo Diddley's band alongside maracas player Jerome Green and bassist Roosevelt Jackson. Bo Diddley said that when he added Clifton James to his band, "He was the man who did the original Bo Diddley beat on the drums." Clifton James himself said: "I’m the one that gave him that beat... It just came to me. Well, before I started messing around with him, I was at home and I was just beating out something. That’s all. I met Bo and we started playing together... " Willie Dixon also said: "That actually was Clifton James’ idea of a beat more than it was B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maraca
A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were rattles of divination, an oracle of the Brazilian Tupinamba people, found also with other Indigenous ethnic groups, such as the Guarani, Orinoco and in Florida. Rattles made from '' Lagenaria'' gourds are being shaken by the natural grip, while the round '' Crescentia'' calabash fruits are fitted to a handle. Human hair is sometimes fastened on the top, and a slit is cut in it to represent a mouth, through which their shamans (''payes'') made it utter its responses. A few pebbles are inserted to make it rattle and it is crowned with the red feathers of the ( scarlet ibis). Every man had his maraca. It was used at their dances and to heal the sick. Andean curanderos (healers) use maracas in their healing rites. Modern maraca balls are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerome Green
Jerome Green (c.1934 – c.1973) was an American percussionist and occasional lyricist and vocalist, known for playing maracas and acting as Bo Diddley's foil in his performances and on his recordings in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Green grew up in Chicago, and was a neighbor of Ellas McDaniel, later known as Bo Diddley, who was older by a few years. According to some sources, Green played tuba, but, when Bo Diddley performed on street corners and outside theaters from about 1950, he used Green to collect money from bystanders. Needing to add percussion to boost his sound, but not wanting to have to carry a drum kit between venues, he recruited Green to play maracas, which he made out of toilet floats filled with black-eyed peas. Bo Diddley said: "I taught Jerome how to play those maracas... They gave.. the unique sound, that jungle-type rhythm feel..". Referring to himself, Green, and bassist Roosevelt Jackson, he commented: "We used to be three dudes going do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 with the purchase of the New York-based US Decca Records (established in 1934), including Coral Records and Brunswick Records. MCA was forced to exit the talent agency business in order to complete the merger. As American Decca owned Universal Pictures, MCA assumed full ownership of Universal and made it into a top film studio, producing several hits. In 1966, MCA formed Uni Records and in 1967, purchased Kapp Records which was placed under Uni Records management. History The early years In 1937, the owner of Decca, E. R. Lewis, chose to split off the UK Decca company from the US company (keeping his US Decca holdings), fearing the financial damage that would arise for UK Companies if the emerging hostilities of Nazi Germany should le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pretty Thing
"Pretty Thing" is a 1955 song written by Bo Diddley and Willie Dixon and performed by Bo Diddley. The song was Diddley's third single release through Checker Records after "Diddley Daddy". In 1963, the song was released in the United Kingdom where it became Diddley's first of only two songs appearing on the UK Singles Chart, the other single being "Hey Good Lookin'". Writing and recording Original releases of the single credited Bo Diddley (Ellas McDaniel) as the song's writer, but many later releases credit Willie Dixon. Bo Diddley himself said: I remember Willie standin' over me, whisperin' the lyrics in my ear before I got to the next line! He was nice enough to give me part of the tune. It should be on the credits: 'McDaniel & Dixon'". "Pretty Thing" was recorded by Bo Diddley on July 14, 1955 – the same day as "Bring It to Jerome". Producing the session at Universal Recording Corporation in Chicago, Illinois were the Chess brothers – Leonard and Phil – and Bo Did ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
