Bo Diddley Albums Ranked
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known as Bo Diddley, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and music producer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and The Clash. His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music.[3][5][6] In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017.[7][5][8] He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[9] Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his distinctive rectangular guitar, with its unique booming, resonant, shimmering tones. Here are all of Bo Diddley albums ranked.
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10. Rides Again (1963)
“Bo Diddley Rides Again”, mixes tracks from the 50’s from different US LPs, while the second one, “In The Spotlight”, mainly contains tracks from the early 60’s (even in stereo). This is great stuff, typical “jungle music” Bo Diddley-style. It’s also of historical interest, as these British LPs followed up a Bo Diddley-tour in England (in 1963) and were quite a success saleswise. “
9. The Chess Box (1990)
“The consistency of the songs makes this difficult to listen to all at once. But it is great music. Bo Diddley had a cool sound and stuck to it, emphasizing the rhythm in rhythm and blues. Diddley’s style is an essential listen, but I feel like it would be better served in smaller portions.”
8. In The Spotlight (1960)
“This album is also quite a bit louder and swampier than Chuck Berry recordings from the same time. Special mention goes to the West Indies-influenced “Limber” and the original storming version of the perennial “Roadrunner”, but this entire album is eminently listenable and is one of the most enjoyable 50s/early 60s rock albums I’ve come by. I wonder if Nilsson found inspiration for “The Flying Saucer Song” from Bo Diddley drunkenly arguing with an old homeless version of himself on “Signifying Blues”.
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7. Bo Diddley’s Beach Party (1963)
“This is Bo Diddley’s music as it’s meant to be heard: live and loose. A terrific set (recorded by a beach!) with what concert albums off forget to include enough of: funny and off the cuff between the songs interactions between performer and audience. Beach Party is a wonderful and essential snap-shot of early days pre-Beatles rock and roll from one of the most important players of that time.”
6. Bo Diddley Is A Lover (1961)
“Bo Diddley’s fuzzy, primal, chugging, insistent tremolo-filled rhythm guitar, and Jerome Green’s piston-pumping, steam engine, maracas-on-fire percussion. Jerome Green wins a seat in my rock and roll firmament for being the one and only innovator of those little ol’ seed-filled balls that were an ever-present, ever-dependable, and essential part of the Bo Diddley beat.”
5. Bo Diddley (1962)
“Simply put, if you don’t own this one, you don’t have a definitive history of how Rock & Roll came to be! This is some of the best power guitar driven rock & roll ever recorded. Each and every song is a classic on it’s own”
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4. Have Guitar, Will Travel (1960)
“Bo knows Rock n’ Roll. This album is just plain filthy! Every song rocks! Check out “Mumblin’ Guitar”. “Say Man, Back Again” is hilarious: “I went out with your girl, and she was so skinny, we had to tie knots in her legs to give her knees”. Also, “I Need You Baby” is probably where the Rolling Stones got “Not Fade Away” from.”
3. Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger (1960)
“The first track, “Gun Slinger,” is a perfect encapsulation of the Bo-Diddley beat and guitar sound that is now legendary, and it’s a great example of one type of Bo Diddley song: the tough, braggadocio filled, spirited romp, like a peacock strutting his stuff behind a solid blues-based rhythm and beat. Track two, “Ride on Josephine,” has to rank as one of Bo Diddley’s top ten songs. It’s a spirited roll down the road/in the hay that’s a classic slice of late-50s to mid-60s Chuck Berry/Bo Diddley-esque rock and roll.”
2. Go Bo Diddley (1959)
“GO BO DIDDLEY has been recognized as the treasure trove of classic rock and roll that it is. For example Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it #214 on The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time and it’s not hard to hear why when you throw this on for the first time and just let the grooves and rhythms take you back to a simpler time when the music was pure and unadulterated in its primeval forms.”
1. Bo Diddley (1958)
“Diddley, Diddley Daddy. Bo is the Daddy of Rock N Roll. He’ll let Elvis be the King, Little Richard be the Queen, and Jerry Lee and Chuck Berry can be prancing Princes looking for underage chicks. They can have all that jive. He supplied the seed and the beat. He don’t care, he’ll namecheck himself in his songs all he wants. He knows he’s the man.”