Hey Bo Diddley
Encyclopedia
"Hey! Bo Diddley" is Bo Diddley
's 8th Checker Records
single (not to be confused with the song "Bo Diddley
") released as a single
in April 1957 by Checker Records
. The single's b-side was "Mona" (sometimes known as "I Need You Baby").
, Illinois
on February 8, 1957 – the same day as "Mona". The song was produced
by Diddley with Leonard
and Phil Chess
, and backing Diddley (vocals
, guitar
) were Jerome Green (maracas), either Frank Kirkland or Clifton James (drum
s). The backing vocals on the song were Peggy Jones and the Flamingos
.
", "Gunslinger, and "Pretty Thing
") "Hey! Bo Diddley" features a Bo Diddley beat.
and released on the 1964 live album
, Bo Diddley's Beach Party
with the Dutchess
. The song was performed live with Ronnie Wood on Live at the Ritz
in 1988.
, John P. Hammond
, Kenny Rogers
, Ronnie Hawkins
, the Grateful Dead
on Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72, and The Temptations
.
for their debut album
in 1964 and by Quicksilver Messenger Service
released on their second album Happy Trails
in 1969. "Mona" was also recorded by soap opera
star Craig McLachlan
(as Craig McLachlan & Check 1-2), reaching #2 in the United Kingdom
and #3 in Australia
in 1990. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly
in 1957, though it was never released.
released a 12" L.P. titled Hey! Bo Diddley. In November 1963 Pye International Records
released a 7" EP
titled Hey! Bo Diddley. In 1996 Beat Goes On released a compilation CD
called Hey! Bo Diddley/Bo Diddley with "Hey! Bo Diddley" as the first track. The song was also released on several greatest hits
albums including 16 All-Time Greatest Hits and His Best
".
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's 8th 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...
single (not to be confused with the song "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...
") released 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...
in April 1957 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 single's b-side was "Mona" (sometimes known as "I Need You Baby").
Recording
"Hey! Bo Diddley" was recorded in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
on February 8, 1957 – the same day as "Mona". The song was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Diddley with Leonard
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 :...
and Phil Chess
Phil Chess
Philip Chess is an American record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records.He was born Fiszel Czyż in a Jewish community in Częstochowa, Poland. He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago in 1928...
, and backing Diddley (vocals
Singing
Singing 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...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) were Jerome Green (maracas), either Frank Kirkland or Clifton James (drum
Drum kit
A 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 backing vocals on the song were Peggy Jones and the Flamingos
The Flamingos
The Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
.
Rhythm
Like many of Bo Diddley's songs (e.g. "Bo DiddleyBo 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...
", "Gunslinger, and "Pretty Thing
Pretty Thing
"Pretty Thing" is a 1955 song written by Chess Records bassist-songwriter Willie Dixon and originally performed by Bo Diddley. The song was Diddley's third single release through Checker Records after "Diddley Daddy"...
") "Hey! Bo Diddley" features a Bo Diddley beat.
Live versions
The song was recorded either July 5 or 6 at Myrtle Beach, South CarolinaMyrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
and released on the 1964 live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Bo Diddley's Beach Party
Bo Diddley's Beach Party
Bo Diddley's Beach Party is the eleventh album by rock musician Bo Diddley. Recorded live in concert in July 1963 at the Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, it is one of rock music's earliest live remote recordings...
with the Dutchess
Norma-Jean Wofford
Norma-Jean Wofford was an American guitarist who played with Bo Diddley and his band from 1962 to 1966.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was Bo Diddley's second female guitarist replacing Peggy Jones aka 'Lady Bo'. After Jones left the band, Bo Diddley was asked by disappointed fans what...
. The song was performed live with Ronnie Wood on Live at the Ritz
Live at the Ritz
Live at the Ritz is a 1988 live album by The Gunslingers . It was a chart hit in Japan peaking at #40 and selling over 11,000 copies...
in 1988.
Cover versions
"Hey! Bo Diddley" was covered by Bill BlackBill Black
William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. was an American musician who is noted as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and the leader of Bill Black's Combo....
, John P. Hammond
John P. Hammond
John Paul Hammond is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr.".-Background:...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Ronnie Hawkins
Ronnie Hawkins
Ronald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...
, the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
on Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72, and The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
.
Mona (I Need You Baby)
The song "Mona (I Need You Baby)" was covered by many artists such as The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
for their debut album
The Rolling Stones (album)
-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica, percussion*Keith Richards – guitar, backing vocals*Brian Jones – guitar, harmonica, percussion, backing vocals*Charlie Watts – drums, percussion...
in 1964 and by Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
released on their second album Happy Trails
Happy Trails (album)
Happy Trails is the second album of the American band Quicksilver Messenger Service.Happy Trails consists mainly of a performance cover of Bo Diddley's - aka Ellas McDaniel - "Who Do You Love?" spread out over 25 minutes...
in 1969. "Mona" was also recorded by soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
star Craig McLachlan
Craig McLachlan
Craig McLachlan is an Australian actor and singer. He appeared in shows such as Sons and Daughters, Neighbours, Bugs and Home and Away.-Biography:...
(as Craig McLachlan & Check 1-2), reaching #2 in the 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...
and #3 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1990. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
in 1957, though it was never released.
Album releases
In 1962 Chess RecordsChess 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....
released a 12" L.P. titled Hey! Bo Diddley. In November 1963 Pye International 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...
released a 7" EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
titled Hey! Bo Diddley. In 1996 Beat Goes On released a compilation CD
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
called Hey! Bo Diddley/Bo Diddley with "Hey! Bo Diddley" as the first track. The song was also released on several greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
albums 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...
".