"Before You Accuse Me" is a blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 song written and recorded by rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 icon Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley

Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...

 in 1957. It was released as the B-side to Diddley's "Say Bossman" and was included on his self-titled debut album

Bo Diddley (album)

Bo Diddley is the debut album by rock and roll pioneer and blues icon Bo Diddley. It is a compilation of his singles since 1955. It collects several of his most influential and enduring songs...

 in 1958. Backing Diddley (vocal and guitar) are Jody Williams

Jody Williams (blues musician)

Joseph Leon Williams , better known as Jody Williams, is an American blues guitarist and singer. His singular guitar playing, marked by flamboyant string-bending, imaginative chord changes and a distinctive tone, was influential in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s.-Career:In the mid 1950s,...

 (guitar), Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon

William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...

 (bass), and Frank Kirkland (drums).

Eric Clapton versions

"Before You Accuse Me" was recorded twice by Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

: an electric version on his 1989 album Journeyman

Journeyman (album)

Journeyman is an album by blues/rock musician Eric Clapton, released in 1989.The album has an electronic sound, mostly influenced by the '80s rock scene, but it also had blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me", "Running On Faith", and "Hard Times"...

and a live acoustic version for the MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...

 series, later to be released on his 1992 Grammy

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning album Unplugged

Unplugged (Eric Clapton album)

Unplugged is a live album by Eric Clapton released in 1992. It was recorded live in England for the MTV Unplugged series and includes both the hit single "Tears in Heaven" and a heavily reworked acoustic version of "Layla"....

. The Journeyman electric version reached #9 on Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1990. The electric version, recorded in 1989, features Robert Cray

Robert Cray

Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...

 on guitar and he performs the second solo.

Both the electric and acoustic versions of "Before You Accuse Me" were included on Clapton's various setlists over the years, from the Knebworth charity

Concerts at Knebworth House

The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England has become a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band attracted 60,000 at the first large concert held at the venue....

 show of 1990 to the recent North American and European Summer tours of 2008. The song was also featured on the 2009 Australasian/British and 2010 American tours; it is included on the 2011 Far-Eastern, American and British tours.

Other versions

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....

 included a cover of this song on their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory

Cosmo's Factory

Cosmo's Factory is the fifth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in July 1970 and released as Fantasy 8402, the same month as the single release of "Lookin' out My Back Door" b/w "Long As I Can See the Light" .The name of the album comes from...

. Creedence Clearwater Revival had previously recorded the song in 1968 during the recording sessions for their self-titled debut album

Creedence Clearwater Revival (album)

Creedence Clearwater Revival is the first album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in 1968.The reissue liner notes state that while "Susie Q" proved to be a hit, the band had played for years as the Golliwogs in the early 1960s, releasing numerous singles before...

, however this outtake version was not released until its inclusion on the album’s 40th Anniversary Edition CD as a bonus track. Blues musicians Magic Slim

Magic Slim

Magic Slim is an American blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:Magic Slim was forced to give up playing the piano when he lost his little finger in a cotton gin mishap. He moved first to nearby Grenada. He first came to Chicago in 1955 with his friend and mentor Magic Sam...

 and Delbert McClinton

Delbert McClinton

Delbert McClinton is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist....

have also been recorded "Before You Accuse Me".