Diddley Daddy
Encyclopedia
"Diddley Daddy" is a song by rock and roll
musician Bo Diddley
. The song was issued as a single
on Checker Records
in June 1955. It was Bo Diddley's second single, and followed on the heels of the success of "Bo Diddley
." The song spent four weeks on the Billboard
R&B chart in the summer of 1955, peaking at #11.
composition, which Leonard Chess
, owner of Chess Records
(Checkers
was a subsidiary label of Chess), had heard Arnold play and wanted Diddley to record. However, Arnold had just signed a contract with Vee-Jay Records
, and had recorded the song the day before at Universal Studios. When Chess wanted Arnold to sing the song, the latter realized he had a contract, responding, "I can't do it...I just recorded it for Vee-Jay." Chess responded, "Goddam! Ain't this a bitch!" A solution, however, was found on the spot: Diddley and Harvey Fuqua
, who happened to be around, rewrote the lyrics.
As it happened, the harmonica player Little Walter
was in the studio, and he asked Billy Boy Arnold for his harp; Walter plays the long solo after the first verse (Arnold plays harmonica on the B-side, "She's Fine, She's Mine"). Also decided at "the spur of the moment" was to have Chicago doo-wop
group The Moonglows
sing background vocals.
said it combined "outrageous braggadocio with a beat that resounds like an endless sexual shudder."
Marking Diddley's popularity in England
, the Rolling Stones, who early in their career often played Diddley songs live, covered the song (along with Diddley's "Road-Runner") on their first demo, recorded on March 11, 1963.
and Stuart Colman
. After Diddley's death, in 2008, the phrase directly referred to Diddley in various obituaries; the usage reflected Diddley's habit of self-reference as well as the way others talked about him, such as Tom Petty
: "Elvis is King. But Diddley is Daddy."
albums by Bo Diddley including 16 All-Time Greatest Hits and His Best
.
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...
musician 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...
. The song was issued as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on 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...
in June 1955. It was Bo Diddley's second single, and followed on the heels of the success of "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...
." The song spent four weeks on the 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...
R&B chart in the summer of 1955, peaking at #11.
Writing and recording
The song was recorded on May 15, 1955 in Chicago. Originally called "Diddy Diddy Dum Dum," it started out as a Billy Boy ArnoldBilly Boy Arnold
Billy Boy Arnold is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.-Biography:...
composition, which Leonard Chess
Leonard Chess
Leonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...
, owner of Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
(Checkers
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...
was a subsidiary label of Chess), had heard Arnold play and wanted Diddley to record. However, Arnold had just signed a contract with Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
, and had recorded the song the day before at Universal Studios. When Chess wanted Arnold to sing the song, the latter realized he had a contract, responding, "I can't do it...I just recorded it for Vee-Jay." Chess responded, "Goddam! Ain't this a bitch!" A solution, however, was found on the spot: Diddley and Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua
Harvey 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...
, who happened to be around, rewrote the lyrics.
As it happened, the harmonica player Little Walter
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
was in the studio, and he asked Billy Boy Arnold for his harp; Walter plays the long solo after the first verse (Arnold plays harmonica on the B-side, "She's Fine, She's Mine"). Also decided at "the spur of the moment" was to have Chicago doo-wop
Doo-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...
group The Moonglows
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
sing background vocals.
Critical praise
One of Bo Diddley's signature songs, "Diddley Daddy" evidenced Diddley's maturation process as an artist. It was described as a "terrific nugget" and an "infectious" "upbeat rocker". The Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
said it combined "outrageous braggadocio with a beat that resounds like an endless sexual shudder."
Marking Diddley's popularity in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the Rolling Stones, who early in their career often played Diddley songs live, covered the song (along with Diddley's "Road-Runner") on their first demo, recorded on March 11, 1963.
Bo Diddley, Diddley Daddy
The title of the song has come to stand for Bo Diddley himself, as evidenced from articles about Diddley by Val WilmerVal Wilmer
Valerie Sybil Wilmer is an internationally noted photographer, jazz historian and writer, also specializing in gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture....
and Stuart Colman
Stuart Colman
Stuart Colman into a well-known musical family, took up piano and bass guitar, and enjoyed his first taste of success when he joined Pinkerton's Assorted Colours in 1966. Three years later, the group evolved into The Flying Machine and their first single under that name, "Smile A Little Smile For...
. After Diddley's death, in 2008, the phrase directly referred to Diddley in various obituaries; the usage reflected Diddley's habit of self-reference as well as the way others talked about him, such as Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
: "Elvis is King. But Diddley is Daddy."
Reissues
A Bo Diddley compilation CD issued in 1988 is also called Diddley Daddy. The song is featured on many greatest hitsGreatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
albums by Bo Diddley including 16 All-Time Greatest Hits and His Best
His Best
His Best is a 1997 greatest hits compilation album by American rock and roll icon Bo Diddley released by Chess and MCA Records on April 8, 1997 . The album was re-released by Geffen Records on April 17, 2007 as The Definitive Collection with a different album cover...
.
Personnel
- Bo Diddley – lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, 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... - Little WalterLittle WalterLittle Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Jerome Green – maracas
- Clifton James – drumDrum 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 ....
s - The MoonglowsThe MoonglowsThe Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...
– backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Notable covers
- Chris IsaakChris IsaakChristopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
, on Heart Shaped World (1989) - The Pretty Things & Yardbirds Blues BandThe Pretty ThingsThe Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
, on Chicago Blues Jam 1991 and Wine, Women & Whiskey (1994) - Rolling Stones, first demo