I’ve posted on Bo Diddley several times last year (
here,
here and
here) as well as directed you all to the great privately pressed Bo Diddley Live at a Frathouse in 1959 LP at WFMU Rock’n’Soul Ichiban blog (if you missed it, get it
here) but when Santa left these photos under the Christmas tree I couldn’t resist posting them.
Also, I couldn’t resist posting my ten favorite Bo Diddley covers:
*Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks–
Who Do You Love b/w
Bo Diddley (Roulette) Yes, that’s Robbie Robertson on guitar, a huge hit in Windsor, Ontario where it was played constantly on CKLW where it was heard in Detroit and was a seminal influence on the young James Williamson and Wayne Kramer.
*Dick Dale–
Surfin’ Drums (Deltone) American royalty: The King of the Surf Guitar, and a great guy, and still a great guitar player. He speaks of himself in the third person.
*Rolling Stones- Crackin’ Up (Live BBC version) I know it’s not as good as their version of Mona (I Need You Baby) on their first LP (UK) or
Now (U.S.) or Please Go Home (
Between The Buttons, UK,
Flowers, U.S.) but it’s a lot rarer, and long out of print. Dig Brian and Bill’s off key harmonies. No wonder they took the mikes away from them soon after.
*Pretty Things- Road Runner (Live BBC version) Captured at their peak. What can I say? Tortured and beautiful.
*Link Wray & his Raymen- Bo Diddley (Swan) The evil genius!
*Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band–
Diddy Wah Diddy (A&M) Produced by David Gates, of Bread fame!
*Mac Rebbenack (Dr. John) (Rex)-
Storm Warning Mac was a helluva guitar player until he got one of his fingers shot off, he’s still pretty great, and plays this one at the Ponderosa Stomp every year. He was booed by Bon Jovi fans at Jazz Fest last year.
*Mickey & Sylvia–
Dearest (Vik) Written by Bo (who also wrote their big hit Love Is Strange) who also plays rhythm guitar on it, here’s an
alternate take. This was Bob Quine’s all time favorite guitar solo (courtesy of Mickey Baker).
*Freddie Cannon–
Buzz Buzz A Diddle It (Swan) Not strictly a Bo cover, but Kenny Paulson’s guitar is savage, anybody got any info on him?. Freddie, if you want me to pull this, just e-mail me directly through this site and I’ll yank it.
Plus, I gotta add this one:
*Crystals–
I Love My Baby (Aladdin) Not the Phil Spector group, but a Teen Queens inspired L.A. high school group issued in ’57. It’s not a Bo cover, but he’s named checked (along with American fascist Henry Ford) and it seems to be about Bo, and I love the tune.
HELP THE PEOPLE OF HAITI! To make an emergency donation click here. These people have been through so much, from the slave revolt in the late 18th century to years of Papa and Baby Doc to the four hurricanes of 2007, and now a 7.0 earthquake. Please help.
While I’m on the subject of Haiti, the best books I’ve ever read on the Haitian slave revolt (the only successful slave revolt in history) are Madison Smart Bell’s trilogy: All Soul’s Rising (Penguin, 1995), Master Of The Cross Roads (Pantheon, 2000) and The Stone The Builder Refused (Pantheon, 2004). He followed them up with the definitive biography of Toussaint Louverture, the black Napoleon (Pantheon, 2007). For the best look at what went wrong in Haiti during the Aristide years, Michael Deibert’s Notes From The Last Testament (Seven Stories Press, 2007) is essential reading. For an interesting account of Iggy Pop and Haiti, see Paul Trynka’s Open Up and Bleed (Broadway Books, 2008) pages 265-269. Iggy keeps a studio in Miami’s little Haiti neighborhood to this day.
Addendum: As suggested by Wes Smith’s comment I’m adding this tune by the Saturday Nights who backed Freddie Cannon on Buzz Buzz A Diddle It– Texas Tommy (Swan).
The neck’s a bit small, but I can get a job in Blue Oyster Cult with this one….
Maybe it’ll sound better in color?
Eureka! This is the one!
My personal pet conspiracy theory is the the Beefheart DWD is actually a cover of the Astronauts version, probably w/o Beefs knowledge. Magic Band got shipped to Denver's Whisky a Go Go for 6 months then split with the guitarist stolen from the Fantabulous Jags. I think he probably taught them the Astronauts arrangement (in Denver, Astronauts were as big as the Beatles just the year before). Now I'm gonna go solve the JFK assassination.
“actually a cover of the Astronauts version,”Just played the Astronauts version on the Orbit Campus LP, I think you're right….
My fave Bo cover is your first pick. Robbie Robertson kills on Who Do You Love! BTW: A somewhat guilty pleasure of mine is the Quicksilver version with John Cippolina on guitar. Not a big fan of that whole SF long jam thing but Cippolina always makes it interesting for me. I suppose the most famous Bo knock-off would be Willie and the Hand Jive by Johnny Otis. Somebody has also got to do a comprehensive article on the whole Hambone thing. Red Saunder's “Hambone” (with a young Dee Clark), Little Booker's “Doing the Ham Bone” on Imperial etc… -Barry Soltz
“Willie and the Hand Jive by Johnny Otis.”Yeah, Otis claims he was playing that beat w/Count Otis Matthew's & the House Rockers in the early 40's.I imagine the ancient Carthaginians had a similar beat also, the idea that anything is ever new is one of consumer culture's great lies.
Great stuff.I'd add Hoodoo Gurus' “Hoodoo You Love” (b-side 1984) and '68 Comeback's (*not* Brian Setzer) “Bo Diddley 1969,” although it's tough to top Bo's original latter. And not for kitsch purposes; these two rock.bonomo
Great photos the Hound. That 2 P-90 SG is a winner. Also thanks for turning me on to those Madison Smart Bell Books. They are insanely fantastic. Was lucky to meet him on the Earle tour bus a few years back and it was just after reading “All Souls Rising”
“Produced by David Gates, of Bread fame!” Shouldn't that really be “of Swinging Baby doll/Lovin' at Night/You'll Be My Baby fame”? You left Bread out of your Larry Knechtel post earlier…Jokes aside, thanks for another super post! The photos are awesome!!! While I'm on the subject of studio musicians – there's an LP on the Jerome label with some of Bo's works as a session guitar player and producer on it. It's called “Bo Diddley is a… session man” and it looks great! Thanks again!
Hey, Hound – where'd you find the photos of Bo? Soooo cool!
” where'd you find the photos of Bo?”they were a present from Santa….
there's a new lp called BO DIDDLEY IS A….SESSION MAN. all 45's that Bo either produced, or played on as a session guitarist…looks swingin'!
“here's a new lp called BO DIDDLEY IS A….SESSION MAN. all 45's that Bo either produced, or played on as a session guitarist…”I posted some of that stuff last year (Billy Stewart, the Marquees, etc,) but the linx are now dead. It's a goodidea…I think I have all the discs that are on it.
Just curious-were Bo's business affairs in order? So many people covered his stuff…was he chasing royalties till his last day like so many others fro his era? f'ing crime, man.toke!
“So many people covered his stuff…was he chasing royalties till his last day like so many others fro his era? f'ing crime, man.”He sold his songwriting rights back to Arc in the 60's for $30,000 and was very bitter about it later on.
He was very very bitter. Man, he was still complaining about Chess Records in 2004,when I saw him in NYC. He never stopped being angry,about Chess,and would hardly ever do his older material. People in the audience would yell/ask for his classic songs and he wouldn't do them. 30,000 dollars was a lot at that time in the 60's,you could buy 2 large houses for that amount. So that's that. But the thing to remember is,a lot of these artists couldn't see the future,and didn't know their music would become popular again,and they didn't see other artists covering their songs would lead to large royalty payments. That's is if you owned your publishing/wrote your own songs,and then hung onto it.I feel bad for Bo,and most of the Chess artists,who lost their music ownership.
“That's is if you owned your publishing/wrote your own songs,and then hung onto it.”True dat as Andre Williams would say, but Bo sold his writer's share (the other 50%), and I would say its fairly unethical to buy a writer's share. Since Arc basically got his publishing for free (written into his original recording contract) they should have given him back the writer's share. When Billy Preston got in trouble with the law in the 90's and tried to sell his writer's share of his songs to Rondor Music Jerry Moss refused to buy 'em and just gave him the money he needed. Now that's a decent human being! I guess someone had to pay for Marshall Chess' detox….too bad it was Bo.
Sad about Bo and his lost publishing revenue. I remember reading about how Bo was supposedly living in a trailer in Fla. when Nike came out with the “You don't know Bo” ad campaign back in the 1990's.On a somewhat related note – are you ever gonna do a post on the folks playin' behind Bo – the various Lady Bo's and Jerome Green, et al. Did he have a long time drummer ?As Always,Thanks Again Hound !
“Did he have a long time drummer ?”Clifton James, an interview w/him can be found here:http://www.the-blindman.com/Archives/CJame&BD.pdf
Thanks for the link to the cool interview… In it, Clifton mentions that he and Billy Boy (Arnold, I suppose) backed a white female singer named Jean Gillian on a version of “Bo Diddley” ca. 1956. Anyone heard this version? Was it released at all? I can't find anything on JG on the internet.
I know he didnt have a lot of money as he lived down the street from my cousin in Archer, Fl, in a doublewide.
I'd like to add the Juveniles version of “Bo Diddley.” Incredible stuff! Also, that Hawks version is amazing. Blew my mind when I heard it on that Rockin' Bones box. Great blog, thanks! –Nick
What about Pills by th New York Dolls and I Can Tell by Johnny Thunders?
“Juveniles version of “Bo Diddley.””Pills by th New York Dolls and I Can Tell by Johnny Thunders?”all good choices, I could have easily done a hundredfrom Muddy Waters' Mannish Boy to the Pretty Things' Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut to Mudboy & the Nuetrons' Bo Diddley…I'll do another ten some day soon…..Thunders' used to do I Can Tell w/ my pals the Senders all the time.
Of course, the Dolls.
In '66, Bo said: “I’ve got a great name all over the world but it seems like every damned group is copying me!”I don't think he dug being covered much.PJL
I've always thought that Bo Diddley is really African music, don't you think so?
“I've always thought that Bo Diddley is really African music, don't you think so?”He doesn't sound like any African music I've ever heard to be honest. But I haven't heard all African music (but I've heard a lot, especially from Nigeria, South Africa, and N.W. Africa). I think there's a lot of Afro-Caribbean rhythm in his music (Crackin' Up…et al), but as Bo said, his music was from Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Mississippi that is….personally, I think he harks back to a time before race (genetic studies have proven that race is a myth anyway, we're all cousins, and we're all one chromosome away from being chimps, except Dave The Spazz who is only half a chromosome away).
I agree that Freddie Cannon's “Buzz Buzz-a-Diddle It” really had that BoDiddley shuffle beat style.The group backing him up on that song,the Saturday Knights,had a great Bo Diddley style instrumental song of their own on Swan 4081,called “Texas Tommy”.I think anyone who likes that Bo Diddley guitar style would love their obvious Bo Diddley influenced song.Wes Smith
“The group backing him up on that song,the Saturday Knights,had a great Bo Diddley style instrumental song of their own on Swan 4081,called “Texas Tommy”.I think anyone who likes that Bo Diddley guitar style would love their obvious Bo Diddley influenced song.”Hey, I have that record! I think I'll add it to the post.Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty positive it's Kenny Paulson (of Tallahassie Lassie fame) on guitar, all I know about him is he went to prison and died of a heroin overdoes in the early 70's after stints w/Cannon and Dale Hawkins bands.
hey kenny paulson was my grandfather. i have no recordings he has done. can anyone help me out?
kenny actually passed away in 1981, and true it was from a drug overdose
“hey kenny paulson was my grandfather. i have no recordings he has done. can anyone help me out?”His greatest moment was on Freddie Cannon's Tallahassie Lassie, you can download it here:http://rockbillyranch.blogspot.com/2010/01/swan-records.html
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Its great 've always thought that Bo Diddley is really African music, don't you think so? hmmm its about my opinion
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Regarding Kenny Paulson, I sat in with Kenny's band in Boston in 1970. He was a nice guy and a fine guitarist. His band was Dirty John's Hot Dog Stand and I have the album they did. His grandson should check out rare record websites and get it as it has more up to date guitar work than the Freddy Cannon stuff. The title is “Return From the Dead”.
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