Drums:
BUMP ba-Dump ba-Dump BaDa- Bomp !
BUMP ba-Dump ba-Dump BaDa- Bomp !
Guitar:
Wa-heee dee dee da dee wooo-heee!
Wa-heee dee dee da dee wooo-heee!
Moroccas:
Shake-a-Shicka-shick-a-shake-a-shicka shake!
Shake-a-Shicka-shick-a-shake-a-shicka shake!

Above notation is rock-n-roll theory for the truly hip.  Yes, Bo Diddley’s sound was as signature as the electric guitar itself – but not just any electric guitar – no, not for this maverick.  He liked his guitar on the square side and sometimes furry - wha?

Ok, some think of his stuff as one-trick pony show-boatisms.  C’mon get some ear drums that hear drums!  He invented one of the most infectious beats ever.  The Beat featured a guitar sound that came drifting like a torrential jungle river out of speaker cones, sweeping you up in the heat of Rock-n-Roll passion.  A visceral sound that grabbed you and pulled you in to the rhythm.

No, his sound didn’t cut through like a typical "axe" would – it percolated a , strange brew of deep-tonality, saturated with string scratching rhythm, reverb, tremolo and mystery.  There are few sounds in rock as exhilarating as hearing the Bo Diddley rhythm played with authentic fervor***.  His songs were not flashy, didn’t have virtuosic playing, hardly had any catchy hooks that other bands scratch their heads endlessly searching for – no – it’s the beat, it’s the Beat, it’s the BEAT, man!  A beat that is in such classics as “Roadrunner”, “I’m a Man”, “Who Do You Love” and of course “Bo Diddley”.   An infectious beat that infected all sorts of great, great rock-n-roll by the likes of other Bo admirers too many to begin to mention (though the wikipedia entry does a good job of trying). 

In my formative ears, I was thrilled by many covers of Bo Diddley tunes and inspirations.  The Doors playing Bo’s “Who Do You Love” off of the Absolutely Live album sent chills down my spine,  The Animals “Story of Bo Diddley” was a hip and hilarious take on the Bo Diddley mystique.  Johnny Otis’ “Willie and the Hand Jive’ which was a virtual copy of Bo’s rhythm would stick in my head for many days after hearing it.  The New York Doll’s tore it up with their outrageous cover of “Pills”.  The Who do a raucous cover of “Roadrunner” in The Kids are Alright movie that is a complete hoot.

The Rolling Stone’s playing “Not Fade Away” was a launching point for the Greatest Rock-n-Roll Band.  Chuck Berry had few peers but he would often play alongside “the Originator” as Bo was known.  Heck, Bo Diddley is even playing on Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee”. 

Think of a guy appearing in 1955 with a square guitar, with an approach to guitar sound and song style that was so new to the music world that promoters had him tour with jazz entourages not knowing where else to place him.  Ed Sullivan (bless his pointed little head) said he wouldn’t last half a year.  A guy who changed his name from Ellis Otha Bates to Bo Diddley and then would ceaselessly boast and pontificate about his acquired alter-ego in his soulful  voice that was somehow suitable to the chunky, hypnotic tones of the guitar.

So in this age when the radio endlessly cycles drivel from Boston’s first and forgettable album (if only they would let us forget).  That tribal delirium that was so evident in the Originator's music replaced by so much predictable  pandering on the radio.  So-called Classic rock Radio almost has entirely swept Bo under the rug, except that you can’t.  That beat, like Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart keeps bumping from under the floorboards in the rock-n-roll night.  It’s the Beat - Listen to real rock-n-roll: 
BUMP ba-Dump ba-Dump BaDa- Bomp. Wa-heee dee dee da dee wooo-heee Shake-a-Shicka-shick-a-shake-a-shicka shake.
 
***Sorry George Thoroghgood, but your take of “Who Do You Love” is too flashy, with none of the mystery and evocative tone of the Originator.

Personal Note:  As much as I wanted to be exclusively an original songwriter and guitar player, eschewing the tradition of covering other’s music until you learn the rudiments, I had no problem playing the Bo Diddley beat.  The essence of his musical contribution is as essential to quality and evocative, exciting rock-n-roll as anything in the genre and probably all the modern rock riffs combined (ok leave out Kurt Cobain’s “Come As You Are”).  The Cosmic Elvis Entities now include a cover hear and there, of very selective and vital material (Boney Maroney, Shakin All Over, We Gotta Get Outta This Place), but without question Bo Diddley has always had a place in this Rock-n-Roll Heart and we cover “Who Do You Love” often in our sets.