Bo Diddley beat

The Bo Diddley beat is a syncopated musical rhythm that is widely used in rock and roll and pop music.[1][2][3] The beat is named after rhythm and blues musician Bo Diddley, who introduced and popularized the beat with his self-titled debut single, "Bo Diddley", in 1955. Music educator and author Michael Campbell describes the Bo Diddley beat as:

a slightly altered version of the clave rhythm ... [The "Bo Diddley"] song shows the relationship between Afro-Cuban music, Americanized Latin rhythms, and rock rhythm ... [The beats] are more active and complicated than a simple rock rhythm, but less complex than a real Afro-Cuban rhythm.[4]

Bo Diddley beat takes its name from Bo Diddley and his eponymous song

History and composition

"Bo Diddley beat"[5]/Son clave Play .

The Bo Diddley beat is a variation of the 3-2 clave rhythm, one of the most common bell patterns found in Afro-Cuban music that has been traced to sub-Saharan African music traditions.[6] It is also akin to the rhythmic pattern known as "shave and a haircut, two bits", that has been linked to Yoruba drumming from West Africa.[7] A folk tradition called "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes has also been suggested.[8]

According to musician and author Ned Sublette, "In the context of the time, and especially those maracas [heard on the record], 'Bo Diddley' has to be understood as a Latin-tinged record. A rejected cut recorded at the same session was titled only 'Rhumba' on the track sheets."[9] Bo Diddley employed maracas, a percussion instrument used in Caribbean and Latin music, as a basic component of the sound.[7] When asked how he began to use this rhythm, Bo Diddley gave many different accounts. In a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said that he came up with the beat after listening to gospel music in church when he was twelve years old.[10]

In its simplest form, the Bo Diddley beat can be counted out as either a one-bar or a two-bar phrase. The following consists of the count in a one-bar phrase: One e and ah, two e and ah, three e and ah, four e and ah. The bolded counts are the clave rhythm. The two-bar phrase is as follows: One and two and three and four and One and two and three and four and.

Songs using the Bo Diddley Beat

The rhythm occurs in 13 rhythm and blues songs recorded between 1944 and 1955, including two by Johnny Otis from 1948.[11] In 1952, a song with similar syncopation, "Hambone" was recorded by Red Saunders' Orchestra with the Hambone Kids. In 1944, "Rum and Coca Cola", containing the beat, was recorded by the Andrews Sisters.[5]

Later songs employing the Bo Diddley beat include:

• "I Wish You Would" by Billy Boy Arnold (1955)[7]
• "Not Fade Away" by Buddy Holly (1957)[12][13][14]
• "Cannonball" by Duane Eddy (1958)[7][14]
• "Willie and the Hand Jive" by Johnny Otis (1958)[14][15]
• "Hey Little Girl" by Dee Clark (1959)[16]
• "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" by Elvis Presley (1961)[13][14][15]
• "Mickey's Monkey" by The Miracles (1963)[15]
• "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" by The Supremes (1963)[15]
• "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe" by the Byrds (1965)[17]
• "Mystic Eyes" by Them (1965)[5]
• "I Want Candy" by the Strangeloves (1965)[14][15]
• "Please Go Home" by the Rolling Stones (1966)[18]
• "Bummer in the Summer" by Love (1967)[19]
• "Get Me to the World on Time" by the Electric Prunes (1967)[15]
• "She Has Funny Cars" by Jefferson Airplane (1967)[20]
• "Magic Bus" by the Who (1968)[13][14][15]
• "1969" by the Stooges[14]
• "Panic in Detroit" by David Bowie (1973)[14][15]
• "Shame, Shame, Shame" by Shirley & Company (1974)[15]
• "New York Groove" by Hello (1975)[21]
• "She's the One" by Bruce Springsteen (1975)[13][14][15]
• "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1977)[13]
• "Hateful" by the Clash (1979)[15]
• "Cuban Slide" by the Pretenders (1980)[7]
• "Europa and the Pirate Twins" by Thomas Dolby (1981)[15]
• "How Soon Is Now?" by the Smiths (1985) (Diddley-style tremolo)[14][22]
• "Mr. Brownstone" by Guns N' Roses (1987)[14]
• "Faith" by George Michael (1987)[13][15]
• "Desire" by U2 (1988)[14][15]
• "Movin' On Up" by Primal Scream (1991)[23]
• "Tribal Thunder" by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones (1993)[15]
• "No One to Run With" by the Allman Brothers Band (1994)[24]
• "That Big 5-0" by Stan Ridgway (2004)[22]
• "Shark in the Water" by V V Brown (2009)[25]
• "At the Bottom of the Ocean" by Ezra Furman (2013)[26]
• "Water Fountain" by Tune-Yards (2014)[27]
• "Fool For Love" by Lord Huron (2015)[28]

References

1. Brown, Jonathan (June 3, 2008). "Bo Diddley, guitarist who inspired the Beatles and the Stones, dies aged 79". The Independent. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
2. "Bo Diddley". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
3. "Bo Diddley". Rolling Stone. 2001. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
4. Campbell, Michael (2009). Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes On (3rd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-495-50530-3.
5. Hicks, Michael (2000). Sixties Rock. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-252-06915-4.
6. Peñalosa, David (2010). The Clave Matrix; Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins. Redway, California: Bembe Books. p. 244. ISBN 1-886502-80-3.
7. McDonald, Sam (September 7, 2005). "CHUNKA - CHUNKA - CHUNK A - CHUNK-CHUNK". Access World News. Daily Press. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
8. Roscetti, Ed (2008). Stuff! Good Drummers Should Know. Hal Leonard. p. 16. ISBN 1-4234-2848-X.
9. Sublette, Ned (2007). The Kingsmen and the Cha-Cha-Chá. Duke University Press. p. 83. ISBN 0822340410.
10. Strauss, Neil (August 25, 2005). "The Indestructible Beat of Bo Diddley". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
11. Tamlyn, Garry Neville (March 1998). The Big Beat: Origins and Development of Snare Backbeat and other Accompanimental Rhythms in Rock'n'Roll (PDF) (Thesis). University of Liverpool. p. 284. Retrieved August 4, 2014 – via Philip Tagg.
12. Rosen, Steven (March 16, 2011). "Behind The Song: "Not Fade Away"". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
13. Dean, Bill (June 2, 2008). "Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies". Gainesville.com. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
14. Kot, Greg (June 2, 2008). "Bo Diddley dead at 79". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
15. Ratliff, Ben (June 3, 2008). "Bo Diddley: The Beat That Will Go On". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
16. Aquila, Richard (2016). Let's Rock!: How 1950s America Created Elvis and the Rock and Roll Craze. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 232. ISBN 978-1442269378.
17. Dimery, Robert (2011). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Books. ISBN 978-1844037148.
18. Unterberger, Richie. "The Rolling Stones: Flowers – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
19. Fremer, Michael. "Love's 'Forever Changes' Finally Gets Long Deserved First Class Vinyl Reissue". AnalogPlanet.
20. Greenwald, Matthew. "Jefferson Airplane: She Has Funny Cars – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
21. Barton, Geoff (September 24, 2016). "The Story Behind The Song: Ace Frehley's New York Groove – Classic Rock". Teamrock.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
22. Harris, John (2010). Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll: The Ultimate Guide to the Music, the Myths and the Madness. Hachette. p. 149. ISBN 0748114866. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
23. Swanson, Dave. "When Primal Scream Created Their Own World With "Screamadelica"". diffuser.fm. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
24. Eder, Bruce. "Allman Brothers Band: "Where It All Begins" – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
25. "The Singles Jukebox » VV Brown – Shark in the Water". Retrieved 2021-01-27.
26. Jack, Malcolm (February 13, 2014). "Ezra Furman – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
27. "Tune-Yards comes back with Water Fountain". the Guardian. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
28. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/397364256