Bo Diddley

Diddley, Bo

The Rock Heartbeat

If Bo Diddley (1928–2008) had received a dollar every time some act borrowed his distinctive beat—that bouncing chank, a-chank-chank, chank chank, with maracas shaking right alongside—he'd have been the richest man in rock. The Rolling Stones would have had to pay up several times. Bruce Springsteen would owe for "She's the One." Buddy Holly for "Not Fade Away." The Strangeloves' 1965 "I Want Candy" was a direct copy, as was the Who's "The Magic Bus."

Diddley didn't get diddley for inspiring all that music. Virtually everybody in rock used his beat, but not everybody gave him props. This left the Mississippi native, who'd moved to Chicago as a teenager, a bit bitter: In an interview in the early 1990s, Diddley (real name: Ellas McDaniel) railed against record labels and managers, but said he was equally hurt that artists didn't make their sources clear: "I wish they would just let the people know where it comes from. That's all."

Diddley had an impact as soon as he was signed to the Chess subsidiary Checker in the mid-'50s—he told people that other artists around Chess viewed him as a threat, because he was capable of singing both the blues and rock and roll. His debut single, "Bo Diddley," went to the top of the R&B charts in July 1955, and for the next few years Diddley served up variations on its basic strategy, which borrowed from blues and early rock but wasn't aligned with either.

This album, his first, remains the best single-disc account of Diddley's sly genius. It suggests that as his namesake beat spread like wildfire, it overshadowed other, equally potent aspects of his art—notably his songwriting, which combines blues phraseology with a deep understanding of human nature. Diddley explored a diverse array of rhythms over the years, but that bankable beat remains his most important contribution. And this record is the best way to hear it—in its most elemental state, as pounded out by Diddley on his trademark rectangular guitar. It's a hotwired code for the ages, accompanied by just tribal drums and vocal taunts and maybe some party-time maracas to keep things swinging. No matter how technology-happy rock gets, it's still all you need.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1958, Checker
Key Tracks: "Bo Diddley," "Mona," "Before You Accuse Me," "Who Do You Love."
Catalog Choice: Rare and Well Done
Next Stop: The Rolling Stones: Out of Our Heads
After That: Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
Book Pages: 223–224

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About 1,000 Recordings

Celebrate the joy, the revelation, the mystery, the fun, the sheer shivers-up-the-spine pleasure of great music.

Essential operas. Milestone rock albums. An education in the blues. The world of world. Classical from Bach to Bartók to Beethoven to Brahms. And dozens of unexpected gems, surprising discoveries, and long-lost masterpieces.

This is an online version of the list (published alphabetically in the book). The entries in the book break down genre bias and broaden every listener’s horizons—think Miles Davis to Claude Debussy to the melodic story-songs of The Decemberists. And the writing is passionate, informed, opinionated.

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