His Best
Encyclopedia
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 (see 1997 in music
). The album was re-released by Geffen Records
on April 17, 2007 as The Definitive Collection with a different album cover. The Definitive Collection reached #2 on Billboard
magazine's Blues Albums
chart on June 21, 2008, which was the week that the album debuted on the charts.
from 1955's "Bo Diddley" through 1967's "Ooh Baby" (except for "Say Man, Back Again"), although it excluded the UK hit "Hey Good Looking". The album features songs listed in chronological order by when the songs were recorded.
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation album
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...
by American
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...
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...
released by Chess
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....
and MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
on April 8, 1997 (see 1997 in music
1997 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
). The album was re-released by 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:...
on April 17, 2007 as The Definitive Collection with a different album cover. The Definitive Collection reached #2 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...
magazine's Blues Albums
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
chart on June 21, 2008, which was the week that the album debuted on the charts.
Album Background
As a greatest hits album His Best features almost all of Bo Diddley's charters on The BillboardBillboard (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...
from 1955's "Bo Diddley" through 1967's "Ooh Baby" (except for "Say Man, Back Again"), although it excluded the UK hit "Hey Good Looking". The album features songs listed in chronological order by when the songs were recorded.
Track listing
Personnel
Per liner notes and Allmusic- Bo DiddleyBo DiddleyEllas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
– 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...
, guitarGuitarThe 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...
, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Jerome Green – maracas, co-lead vocals, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Jody WilliamsJody 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 on "I'm Looking for a Woman" and "Who Do You Love?" - Peggy Jones – guitar, background vocals
- Ricky Jolivet – guitar
- Lester DavenportLester DavenportLester "Mad Dog" Davenport , was an American Chicago blues harmonica player and singer.Born in Tchula, Mississippi, United States, Davenport moved from Mississippi to Chicago, Illinois, when he was 14...
– 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... - Billy Boy ArnoldBilly Boy ArnoldBilly Boy Arnold is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.-Biography:...
– harmonica - 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...
– harmonica on "Diddley Daddy" - 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 - 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... - James Bradford – bass
- Jesse James Johnson – bass
- Chester Lindsey – bass
- Clifton James – 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 ....
- Frank Kirkland – drums
- Billy Downing – drums
- Edell Robertson – drums
- Eddie Drennon – electric violinElectric violinAn electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
on "Ooh Baby" - Cornelia Redmond – tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
on "Ooh Baby" - Bobby Baskerville – background vocals
- The Carnations – background vocals
- Geary Chansley – photo research
- The FlamingosThe FlamingosThe 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:...
– background vocals - Mike Fink – designDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
on The Definitive Collection - Erick Labson – digital remasteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- 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'...
– background vocals - David RedfernDavid RedfernDavid Redfern is an English photographer specialising in music photography. He has been a photographer for 45 years and has over 10,000 pictures in his collection. His collection includes many famous photos of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. In 1999 he published a book about his life call The...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Andy McKaie – reissue producer and compiler