Bo Diddley
Band members Related acts
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- Bo Diddley (aka Elias McDaniels) (RIP 2008) -- vocals, guitar
supporting
musicians (1971) - John Birganti -- drums - Eddie Covi -- sax - Bob Dorsa -- percussion - Bob Gallo -- guitar, percussion - Sonny Hahn -- guitar - Al Kooper -- guitar, keyboards - Mike Maatia -- keyboards, trumpet - Don Olsen -- bass - Carl Schickler -- guitar, trombone - Vinny Traina -- percussion - Cookie Vee (Cookie Vie) -- percussion, backing vocals - Leslie Zimei -- backing vocals
supporting
musicians (1972) - Tom Thompson - guitar
supporting musicians (1976) - Carmine Appice - drums - Elvin Bishop
- guitar - Billy Joel -
keyboards - Leslie West - guitar
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- none known
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Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: 500% More Man Company: Checker Catalog: LP 2996 Year: 1965 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+ Comments: minor ring wear; couple of pencil marks next to track listing on back cover; mono pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4 Price: $80.00 Cost: $1.00
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It's hard to
imagine in this day and age, but back in 1965 "500%
More Man" found Bo Diddley taking considerable risks
with his career. Today it all seems rather innocuous, but in the mid-'60s
the suggestive album title and cover art were both extremely risqué. Those
moves may not have a major surprise considering that by the mid-'60s
Diddley's career had cooled off. Feeling he'd become too mainstream black
audiences had abandoned him, while seeing him as too R&B, white
audiences turned their attention to Motown and Stax. Unfortunately,
Chess/Checker didn't have a clue how to free Diddley from his commercial
purgatory. Fumbling around for some sort of commercial sound, the end result
proved one of Diddley's most diverse (or ill focused) efforts. Credit
Diddley's professionalism and talent with avoiding the smell of desperation.
That said, the title track, "Let Me Pass" and "Hey Red Riding
Hood" all found Diddley returning to his "I'm a Man" roots.
In contrast, "Stop My Monkey" sounded like something out of the
Berry Gordy catalog. A should've-been hit, the rollicking instrumental
"Soul Food" was an obvious attempt to tap into the Memphis sound.
Elsewhere, backed by The Cookies, "Tonight Is Ours" offered up an
atypical sweet ballad. At least to our ears, the set's lack of focus adds to
it's charm. Personal favorites are the hysterical "Greasy Spoon"
(wonder if there really was a Clyde's Place?), "Let Me Pass" and
the catchy "Root Hoot". In the end it didn't matter since the LP
failed to attract black or white audiences. Interestingly, when Checker
reissued the set, they dropped the original cover in favor of a drab,
nondescript replacement. 1.) 500 % Moe Man
(McDaniel - Matthews) - 2:37 (side 2) 1.) Hey Red Riding
Hood (Reynolds) - 2:59
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Another Dimension Company: Chess Catalog: CH 50001 Year: 1971 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 735 Price: $20.00
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I'm guessing Chess
Records marketing group intended 1971's "Another
Dimension" as a way to expand Bo Diddley's early-'70s
audience to the FM radio crowd. Produced by Bob Gallo, the
concept here was pretty straightforward - surround Diddley with a collection
of rock classics and given him an occasional opportunity to showcase his
guitar. Needless to say, the concept was far better than the
actually execution. For his part, while Diddley didn't sound
half bad (folks forget what an accomplished singer he was), he didn't sound
particularly inspired surrounded by material like The Band's 'The Shape I'm
In', or Al Kooper's 'I
Love You More Than You'll Ever Know'
(the end-of-song horn arrangement simply blew him out of the
water). Another curiosity was the decision to include three CCR
covers ('Bad Moon Rising', 'Down On the Corner', and 'Lodi').
Diddley had previously toured with the band (apparently not an entirely
pleasant experience for him) so you had to wonder why he'd want to line John
Fogerty's pockets with additional income. The collection also
included a pair of Diddley originals; the funky 'Pollution' and the bluesy
'I Said Shutup
Woman'. Far
from his creative zenith - more of an interest from the perspective of
seeing a truly bad marketing concept fall flat. (The three star
rating is probably generous for this one - make it two and a half.) 1.) The Shape I'm In (Jaimie Robbie Robertson) - 5:21 So you had to admire him for being willing to cover 'The Shape I'm In', but there was no way this was going to make you forget The Band's original. 2.) I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know (Al Kooper) - 7:31 I'm guessing the prominent keyboards were Al Kooper himself ... The sad thing is this song was simply soooooo wrong for Diddley. What in the world was the concept here ? rating: ** stars 3.) Pollution (A.McDaniels) - 4:39 So give the man kudos for the funky and socially relevant 'Pollution'. Yeah, lyrically there wasn't a great deal here, but he made the point without getting to ponderous and it had a great, funky rhythm going for it. rating: **** stars 4.) Bad Moon Rising (John Fogerty) - 2:42 In spite of myself, I have to admit a certain fondness for Diddley's country-tinged cover of CCR's 'Bad Moon Rising'. It would have been even better without the cooing female backing singers. rating: *** stars
(side 2) 1.) Down On the Corner (John Fogerty) - 3:19 The second of three CCR covers, 'Down On the Corner' was passable - Diddley's cover did didn't mess with the original melody at all. Song highlight was probably Don Olsen's fuzz bass. rating: *** stars 2.) I Said Shutup Woman (A. McDaniels) - 3:33 The second original, the bluesy, highly misogynistic 'I Said Shutup Woman' would have gotten Diddley's arrested in this day and age. Overlooking the lyrics, the tune itself was a blazing blues number with some of Diddley's best guitar. By the way, the backing female singer (Cookie Vie ?), essentially took Diddley to the aural woodshed on this one. Musically she literally kicked his butt !!! rating: **** stars 2.) Bad Side of the Moon (Elton John - Bernie Taupin) - 2:58 Maybe because my expectations for this one were nonexistent, Diddley's Elton John cover proved the album's biggest surprise. Liked the weird production effects and the fuzz guitar solo. Hated the chirpy backing singers. rating: *** stars 3.) Lodi (John Fogerty) - 5:12 Probably the worst of the three CCR covers, Diddley managed to transform what was one of John Fogerty's best songs into an MOR ballad. Forgettable. rating: ** stars 4.) Go For Broke (instrumental) (John Berganti - Mike Matia - Don Olsen - Carl Schickler) - 3:05 The instrumental 'Go For Broke' sounded like a studio jam that was added to fill out the album's running time. There was a nice fuzz guitar solo, but I'm not even sure if was Diddley ... rating: *** stars
As mentioned, the album spun off two singles:
- 1971's 'I Said Shut Up Woman' b/w 'I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know' (Chess catalog number CH 2117) - 1971's 'The Shape I'm In' b/w 'Pollution' (Checker catalog number CH-1238)
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Where It All Began Company: Chess Catalog: CH 50016 Year: 1972 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cut corner; minor stain on front; die cut cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4 Price: $25.00 Cost: $1.00
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Wow ! We'll have
to admit that Diddley wasn't a major part of our musical lexicon. Were we
ever stupid to have missed such a talented guy !!! 1.) I've Had It
Hard (Eugene McDaniel) - 3:13 (side 2) 1.) Hey, Jerome
(Eugene McDaniel - Connie Redmond) - 3:08
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Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Got My Own Bag of Tricks Company: Chess Catalog: 2CH 60005 Year: 1972 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG/VG Comments: double LP; cut top left corner; gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4649 Price: $20.00 Cost: $1.00
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This is the place for casual fans or the curious to start. A 24 track, double LP set, it offers up an excellent mix of Diddley's hits and lesser known album tracks. You even get an interesting bio from Pete Welding.
"Got My Own Bag of Tricks" track listing: 1.) Bo Diddley (Elias McDaniel) - 2:30 2.) I'm a Man (Elias McDaniel) - 2:41 3.) Bring It To Jerome (Elias McDaniel) - 2:37 4.) Diddley Daddy (Elias McDaniel) - 2:11 5.) Before You Accuse Me (Elias McDaniel) - 2:40 6.) Pretty
Thing (Elias McDaniel) - 2:48 (side 2) 1.) Who Do You Love (Elias McDaniel) - 2:09 2.) Dearest Darling (Elias McDaniel) - 2:32 3.) You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover (Willie Dixon)- 3:03 4.) Hey' Bo Diddley (Elias McDaniel) - 2:17 5.) Say Man (Elias McDaniel) - 2:30 6.) I'm Looking for a Woman (Elias McDaniel) - 2:23
(side 3) 1.) Road Runner (Elias McDaniel) - 2:45 2.) Mona (I Need You Baby) (Elias McDaniel) - 2:18 3.) Cops & Robbers (Elias McDaniel) - 3:21 4.) Story of Bo Diddley (Elias McDaniel) - 2:42 5.) Say, Boss Man (Elias McDaniel) - 2:18 6.) Hush Your
Mouth (Elias McDaniel)- 2:15 (side 4) 1.) 500% More Man (Elias McDaniel - Matthews) - 2:57 2.) Bo's Blues (Elias McDaniel) - 2:32 3.) Nursery Rhyme (Elias McDaniel) - 2:43 4.) Whoa, Mule (Shine) - 2:28 5.) Live My Life (Elias McDaniel) - 2:35 6.) Bo Diddley Is Loose (Elias McDaniel) - 2:57
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Big Bad Bo Company: Chess Catalog: CH 60047 Year: 1974 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap; cut top right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4650 Price: $50.00 Cost: $1.00
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1974's "Big Bad Bo" is somewhat unique in that it doesn't really sound like a Bo Diddley album. Sure, his voice remains instantly recognizable, but the album features an atypical mix of non-originals (the bluesy 'Evelee' being the one self-penned effort) and pseudo-jazzy moves. Recorded in New York with an impressive list of jazz sessions players (Wilbur Bascomb, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Newman, etc.), tracks such as 'You’ve Got A Lot Of Nerve' and '' aren't half bad, but simply don't seem to be Diddley's moniker. Probably because they're the funkiest numbers, the other highlights include the leadoff 'Bite You' and the anti-drug 'Stop The Pusher'.
"Big Bad Bo" track listing: 1.) Bite You (Terri Lynn - Tommi MCDaniel) - 4:20 2.) He's Got All The Whisky (Bobby Charles) - 4:40 3.) Hit Or Miss (Odetta Fr. Gordon) - 3:40 4.) You’ve
Got A Lot Of Nerve (Connie
Richmond - Kay MCDaniel) - 3:23 (side 2) 1.) Stop The Pusher (Kay McDaniel) - 5:15 2.) Evelee (Elisas McDaniel) - 6:23 3.) I've Been Working (Van Morrison) - 4:50
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll Company: RCA Victor Catalog: Year: 1976 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4 Price: $25.00 Cost: $1.00
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Signed by RCA,
1976's "The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n'
Roll" was a somewhat schizoid offering. Musically the
set found Diddley supported by an impressive collection of "B"
list all-stars, including Carmen Appice, Elvin Bishop, Joe Cocker, Billy
Joel, Corky Laing, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Roger McGuinn, Keith Moon and
Leslie West. Produced by Ron Terry, the set seemed interested in breaking
Diddley to the AOR audience via a set of contemporary mid-'70s radio
rockers. Overlooking the shrill female backing singers that seemed plastered
over every one of the songs, tracks such as "Ride the Water",
"Drag On" and "Kill My Body" weren't half bad, though
they weren't exactly Diddley's forte. That said, his performances were never
less than professional and he proved every bit as good as his supporting
cast. Far stranger was the 17 minute "Bo Diddley Jam". Apparently
meant to highlight past glories, the medley ran through Didley's three
biggest hits ("I'm a Man," "Who Do You Love" and
"Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger" - guess RCA thought 17 year olds
didn't have a clue as to what Diddley had done in the past ... Overlooking
our initial reservations, we'll admit this is a pretty cool comeback ... A
minor hit, the collection managed to hit #207. 1.) Ride the Water
(Part 1) (Ron Terry) - 4:20 (side 2) 1.) Bo Diddley Jam - 16:59 2.) I'm a Man (Bo
Diddley)
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