<back - BO DIDDLEY - His name at birth in 1928 in McComb, Mississippi was Ellas Bates. His father was called Eugene Bates and his mother was Ethel Wilson. He was adopted by his mom's cousin Gussie McDaniel and then became known as Ellas McDaniel.  In the mid-1930's the family moved to the south side of Chicago. Soon after, he began to take violin lessons at the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. He studied the violin for 12 years, composing 2 concertos for the instrument. A frustrated drummer, he tried to translate the sounds that he heard into his own style. Gradually he began to duplicate what he did with his violin bow by rapidly flicking his pick across his guitar strings. "I play the guitar as if I'm playing the drums" Bo states.

Shortly before leaving school he formed his first group, a trio that went by the name The Langley Ave Jive Cats. In 1950 maracas player Jerome Green joined the group, followed a year later by harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold.  Bo Diddley finally got the chance to cut a demo of 2 songs that he had written; Uncle John and I'm A Man. In the spring of 1955 he took the recordings to Chess Records. They suggested that he changed the title and the lyrics of 'Uncle John' to more reflect his own unique personality. Released as a double A-side disc 'Bo Diddley/I'm A Man' on Checker Records. It went straight to the top of the R&B charts, establishing Bo Diddley as one of the most exciting new talents in American music. Bo Diddley helped shape he sound and presentation of Rock n' Roll music for all time. Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, Ronnie Hawkins, John Hammond Jr, RL Burnside, J. Geils Band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, King Biscuit Boy, all acknowledge influences of Bo Diddley. He was never a top seller like his Chess label mate Chuck Berry, but over the years he produced a catalog of classics songs like You Don't Love Me, Diddley Daddy, Pretty Thing, Diddy Wah Diddy, Who Do You Love?, Mona, Road Runner, You Can't Judge a Book.  In Great Britain, he was a revered and influential artist in the development of British R&B. UK's Rolling Stones borrowed a lot from Bo Diddley in their early days, as did other British R&B artists like Savoy Brown and Long John Baldry. Arkansas Rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Hawkins recorded 'Hey Bo Diddley' in the late 1950's, which became Ronnie's most popular recording, helping shape what was to become The Band. Bo Diddley was deservedly an early inductee into the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1996 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the R&B Foundation and in 1998, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards that same year. In 2000 Bo Diddley was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame and into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 2004. MP3- Say Man | Who May Your Lover |