Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger
Encyclopedia
Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger is the fifth album by American
rock and roll
pioneer Bo Diddley
released in December 1960 by Checker Records
. The album title comes from the album's first track called "Gunslinger" and the cover art has Bo Diddley dressed in Western
-style clothing. The songs for Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger were recorded from October 1959 to February 1960. Several tracks of interest are "Sixteen Tons
" which Bo was supposed to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show
, the title track, and "Diddling" (an instrumental
between guitar and saxophone
).
single 965 in November 1960. The singles b-side "Signifying Blues" was never released on the album. The song features a Bo Diddley beat.
song with backing vocals and piano work by either Otis Spann
, Lafayette Leake
, or Billy Stewart
. The song has been covered by George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Sleepy LaBeef
, and Eric Sardinas
.
but performed "Bo Diddley
" instead. Being as "Sixteen Tons" is a country and western
song it gives the album a different feel.
on tenor saxophone, and has been covered by The Kinks
, The Downliners Sect, the New Colony Six
, and sung as a duet by Van Morrison
and Linda Gail Lewis
. Cadillac was also the name of the guitar that is featured on the album's front cover.
feel.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
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...
pioneer 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...
released in December 1960 by Checker Records
Checker Records
Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary to 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 Tape in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death.The label...
. The album title comes from the album's first track called "Gunslinger" and the cover art has Bo Diddley dressed in Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
-style clothing. The songs for Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger were recorded from October 1959 to February 1960. Several tracks of interest are "Sixteen Tons
Sixteen Tons
"Sixteen Tons" is a song about the life of a coal miner, first recorded in 1946 by American country singer Merle Travis and released on his box set album Folk Songs of the Hills the following year...
" which Bo was supposed to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, the title track, and "Diddling" (an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
between guitar and saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
).
Gunslinger
This song was originally released as the a-side of CheckerChecker Records
Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary to 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 Tape in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death.The label...
single 965 in November 1960. The singles b-side "Signifying Blues" was never released on the album. The song features a Bo Diddley beat.
Ride on Josephine
"Ride on Josephine" was a rock and rollRock 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...
song with backing vocals and piano work by either Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
, Lafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake was a blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings.-Biography:Leake was born in...
, or Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.-Biography:...
. The song has been covered by George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Sleepy LaBeef
Sleepy LaBeef
Sleepy LaBeef is an American rockabilly musician.LaBeef stands 6' 7" tall and was given the nickname "Sleepy" from the appearance of his eyes. Born in Arkansas, he was raised on a melon farm and moved to Houston when he was 18...
, and Eric Sardinas
Eric Sardinas
Eric Sardinas is an American blues-rock guitarist born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is noted for his use of the electric resonator guitar and his live performances. He sometimes sets his guitar alight on stage and during shows....
.
Sixteen Tons
Bo Diddley was asked to perform "Sixteen Tons" on The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
but performed "Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley (song)
"Bo Diddley" is a rhythm and blues song first recorded and sung by Bo Diddley at the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago and released on the Chess Records subsidiary, Checker Records in 1955. It became an immediate hit single that stayed on the R&B charts for a total of 18 weeks, 2 of those weeks...
" instead. Being as "Sixteen Tons" is a country and western
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song it gives the album a different feel.
Cadillac
The song "Cadillac" features Gene BargeGene Barge
Gene Barge, a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1926, is an accomplished tenor and alto saxophonist and composer in several bands....
on tenor saxophone, and has been covered by The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, The Downliners Sect, the New Colony Six
New Colony Six
The New Colony Six is an American rock band whose height of popularity was from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. From Chicago, the group placed ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1966 and 1971. Original members were Ray Graffia , Chick James , Pat McBride , Craig Kemp , Wally Kemp ,...
, and sung as a duet by Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis is an American singer and pianist. She is the sister of Jerry Lee Lewis.She plays piano and has recorded with Stephen Ackles, Van Morrison, and with her brother. She also has recorded with her two daughtersMaryJean Ferguson, and Annie Marie Dolan in a group called The Lewis 3...
. Cadillac was also the name of the guitar that is featured on the album's front cover.
Other Songs/Styles
The song "Googlia Moo", as well as "No More Lovin'" and others, gives the album a doo-wopDoo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
feel.
Track listing
Personnel
Per allmusic- Bo DiddleyBo DiddleyEllas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
– lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Jerome Green – maracas, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam 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...
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Bobby Baskerville – bass
- Jesse James Johnson – electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Billy Downing – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Clifton James – drums
- Lafayette LeakeLafayette LeakeLafayette Leake was a blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings.-Biography:Leake was born in...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Otis SpannOtis SpannOtis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
– piano - Billy StewartBilly StewartBilly Stewart was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.-Biography:...
– piano - Peggy Jones – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - Gene BargeGene BargeGene Barge, a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1926, is an accomplished tenor and alto saxophonist and composer in several bands....
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Johnny CarterJohnny Carter (singer)Johnny Carter was an American doo-wop and R&B singer. He was a founding member of The Flamingos and a member of The Dells. Both groups have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making Carter one of the few multiple inductees...
– backing vocals - Harvey FuquaHarvey FuquaHarvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s...
– backing vocals - Lily "Bee Bee" Jamieson – backing vocals
- Gloria Morgan – backing vocals
- Nate Nelson – backing vocals
- Leonard ChessLeonard ChessLeonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...
– producer - Andy McKaie – Reissue producer
- Vartan – Art direction
Release History
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
December 1960 | Checker Records Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary to 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 Tape in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death.The label... |
mono Monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path... LP LP record The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
LP 2297 |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
November 1963 | Pye Jazz Records Pye International Records Pye International Records was a record label founded in 1958, as a subsidiary of Pye Records. The company distributed many American labels in the UK, including Chess, Kama Sutra, Buddah, Colpix and King... |
mono LP | NJL 33 |
| United States | August 13, 1966 | Checker Records | 4-track cartridge | 21-369A |
| United States | 1988 | Chess Records | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
CHD-9285 |
| United States | April 13, 2004 | Geffen Records Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:... |
CD | 000176102 |
| Worldwide reissue | 2008 | Universal International Universal Records Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:... |
LP | 1529771 |