With A Bo Diddley Beat…

Recently I read in one of those year end “In Memory” compilations that Bo Diddley had passed on in June. News that had escaped me at the time.

Bo diddley bought his babe a diamond ring,
If that diamond ring don’t shine,
He gonna take it to a private eye,
If that private eye can’t see
He’d better not take the ring from me.

I once saw Bo Diddley play at Creekside Bar & Grill at Warm Springs in Ketchum, ID. I’m not exactly sure what year and the ticket does not say but I guess the early nineties sometime. Shows at Creekside were almost always fun and this was another of many amazing artists that played there. This show was also good but short and just when it seemed Bo was warming up it was over. Still, I remember being awestruck to be watching this musical legend and thinking about how many shows he had played and the influence he had brought to so many other musicians.

One aspect of his legacy of course is the ‘Bo Diddley Beat’, described musically as a two bar phrase. From Wikipedia -

“One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four and…”
The bolded counts are the clave rhythm. “Shave and a haircut”, another clave derivative, also fits, as does the non-musician’s count of “one-two-three one-two”.(1)

This rhythm also has roots in Rumba and in Hambone – a style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks.(2)

The Bo Diddley Beat can be found in countless songs by a wide variety of artists showing the primal and universal appeal of its basic structure. There are a lot of cool Bo Diddley videos on YouTube but here are a handful of examples of that driving rhythm found in a collection of other artists songs. Enjoy.

The Crickets – Not Fade Away

George Michael – Faith

KT Tunstall – Black Horse & the Cherry Tree

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now

Elvis Presley – His Latest Flame

The Stooges – 1969

Bruce Springsteen – She’s The One

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hambone