Other than the obvious stylistic differences, you may have noticed a significant distinction between jazz albums and their rock and roll counterparts as you perused through albums in 1955-1959. Jazz albums usually consisted of tracks that were recorded in a few sessions (often one single session), with material that was intended for an album. Rock and roll albums, however, usually contained previous hit singles compiled into a playlist, rounded out with the necessary amount of filler material to justify an album format.

Often, the filler overwhelmed the hits and the albums lost most of their punch. In its early years rock and roll was not taken very seriously as an art form, so albums were little more than another means to cash in on tracks that were starting to ‘age out’ of significance. As an album, “Bo Diddley” is an exception to that rule. It plays like an album, with interrelated tracks from beginning to end. Over sixty years after its release, it may even be difficult to discern the ‘hits’ from the filler material because each song sounds relevant to the package, making Bo Diddley rock and roll’s first true ‘album artist’, in a sense.

Taken at face value, most of the album could seem ridiculous to those who are (or were) already dismissive of rock and roll. Those who missed the point might claim that the material is as simple as children’s playground stuff, and I’d have a hard time arguing that point, because it’s mostly true. About half of the album’s lyrics resemble something a child might chant while skipping rope, but with a very masculine tongue-firmly-in-cheek edge to them. Many utilize the same lyrical progression as “Mockingbird” (“If that mockingbird don’t sing, he’s gonna buy me a diamond ring”), but as it was written in 1963, that song is a blatant derivative of these songs, not vice versa. Diddley’s genius was taking something incredibly obvious and reinventing it to suit his own purpose, and the net result was dumb enough to make the whole world sing along while dancing to a “shave and a haircut, two bits” beat that earned Bo Diddley’s namesake.

Let’s analyze just how amazing this album is when place in context. For example, how surprised would you be to learn that not a single song on this album ever reached Billboard’s pop top 40 singles chart, even though the album plays like a greatest hits collection? Despite that, would it surprise you to learn that a large percentage of the songs featured here became signature songs for other artists? Here’s a short list: Buddy Holly recorded his own version of “Bo Diddley” and then wrote his own “Not Fade Away”, using the same Bo Diddley beat. “I’m a Man” was a hit for the Yardbirds and inspired a virtually identical answer song from Muddy Waters called “Mannish Boy”. “Before You Accuse Me” was featured on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Cosmo’s Factory’ album (and Eric Clapton recorded it as well). Chris Isaak placed his version of “Diddley Daddy” on his best-selling album, “Heart Shaped World”. “Who Do You Love” pretty much defined the career of Ronnie Hawkins, who never did a gig without playing the damned thing, and every good bar band on planet Earth played some variation of “Pretty Thing”. What more can you ask of an album full of non-hits? And how many rock and roll stars…scratch that…how many people other than Bo Diddly can lay claim to their very own beat? Perhaps you may have heard it before, when you were growing up, but now it has a name, and a namesake. Go, Bo Diddley.
            

Featured Tracks:

Bo Diddley

I'm a Man

Bring It to Jerome

Before You Accuse Me

Hey! Bo Diddley

Dearest Darling

Hush Your Mouth

Say, Boss Man

Diddley Daddy

Diddy Wah Diddy

Who Do You Love?

Pretty Thing

March 1958 – Billboard Did Not Chart