"Hey! Bo Diddley" is

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

's eighth single released by

Checker Records Checker Records is a defunct record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded T ...

(not to be confused with the song "

") and was released as a single in April 1957 by

. The single's B side was " Mona" (later known as "I Need You Baby").

Recording

"Hey! Bo Diddley" was recorded in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on February 8, 1957 – the same day as "Mona". The song was produced by Diddley with

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

and

Phil Chess Philip Chess (born Fiszel Czyż; March 27, 1921 – October 18, 2016) was a Polish-born American record company executive, the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Leonard. Early life Chess was born to a Polish-Jewish family in the ...

, and backing Diddley (

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

) were Jerome Green (

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, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

s), and either Frank Kirkland or Clifton James (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s). The

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

on the song were Peggy Jones and the Flamingos.

Rhythm

Like many of Bo Diddley's songs (e.g. "

", 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 Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

and released on the 1964

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, '' Bo Diddley's Beach Party'' with the Dutchess. The song was performed live with

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

on '' Live at the Ritz'' in 1988.

Cover versions

"Hey! Bo Diddley" was covered by

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...

, John P. Hammond,

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

, Maureen Tucker on '' Playin' Possum'' and '' Life in Exile After Abdication'', the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

on '' Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72'',

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

and the Mary Stokes Band. There is also a spanish version of this song performed by the Mexican Rock'n'Roll band Los Seven Days which was titled "A Bailar Con Los Seven Days." (Dance with the Seven Days) "Pay Bo Diddley" is a cover of the song with new lyrics, referring to the many years where Diddley received no royalties for his work.

Album releases

In 1962

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

released a 12" L.P. titled ''Hey! Bo Diddley''. In November 1963 Pye International Records released a 7" EP titled ''Hey! Bo Diddley''. In 1996 Beat Goes On released a

compilation CD A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

called ''Hey! Bo Diddley/Bo Diddley'' with "Hey! Bo Diddley" as the first track. The song was also released on several

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

albums including ''16 All-Time Greatest Hits'' and '' His Best''.

References

{{Authority control Bo Diddley songs 1957 singles Songs written by Bo Diddley Checker Records singles