The Story of Bo Diddley

Now lets hear the story of Bo Diddley

And the Rock n Roll scene in general

Bo Diddley was born Ellis McDaniels

In a place called McCoom, Missississipi about 1926

He moved to Chicago about 1938

Where his name was eventually changed to Bo Diddley

He practiced the guitar everyday and sometimes into the night

Till his papa's hair began to turn white

His Pa said "Son, listen hear, I know

You can stay but that guitar has just gotta go"

So he pulled his hat down over his eyes

Headed out for them Western Skies

I think Bob Dylan said that

He hit New York City

He began to play at the Apollo in Harlem

Good scene there everybody raving

One day, one night, came a Cadillac with four head lights

Came a man with a big, long, fat, cigar said,

"C'mere son, I'm gonna make you a star"

Bo Diddley said, "Uh..whats in it for me?"

Man said, "Shut your mouth son,

Play the guitar and you just wait and see"

Well, that boy made it, he made it real big

And so did the rest of the rock n roll scene along with him

And a white guy named Johnny Otis took Bo Diddleys rhythm

He changed it into hand-jive and it went like this

In a little old country town one day

A little old country band began to play

Add two guirtars and a beat up saxophone

When the drummer said, boy, those cats begin to roam

Oh baby oh we oh oh

Ooh la la that rock and roll

Ya hear me oh we oh oh

Ooh la la that rock and roll

Then in the U.S. Music scene there was big changes made

Due to circumstances beyond our control such as payola

The rock n roll scene died after two years of solid rock

And you got discs like, ah...

Take good care of my baby

Please don't ever make her blue and so forth

About, ah, one year later in a place called Liverpool in England

Four young lads with mop haircuts began to sing stuff like, ah...

It's been a hard days night and I've been working like a dog and so on

In a place called Richmond in Surrey, whay down in the deep south

They got guys with long hair down their back singing

I wanna be your lover baby I wanna be your man yeah and all that jazz

Now we've doing this number, Bo Diddley, for quite some time now

Bo Diddley visited this country last year

We were playing at the Club A Gogo in Newcastle, our home town

The doors opened one night and to our surprise

W alked in the man himself, Bo Diddley

Along with him was Jerome Green, his maraca man,

And the Duchess, his gorgeous sister

And a we were doing this number

Along with them came the Rolling Stones, the Mersey Beats,

They're all standing around diggin' it

And I overheard Bo Diddley talkin'

He turned around to Jermone Green

And he said, "Hey, Jerome? What do you think these guys

Doin' our..our material?"

Jerome said, "Uh, where's the bar, man? Please show me to the bar..."

He turned around the Duchess

And he said, "Hey Duchess...what do you think of these young guys

Doin' our material?"

She said, "I don't know. I only came across here

To see the changin' of the guards and all that jazz."

Well, Bo Diddley looked up and said to me,

With half closed eyes and a smile,

He said "Man," took off his glasses,

He said, "Man, that sure is the biggest load of rubbish

I ever heard in my life..."

Hey Bo Diddley

Oh Bo Diddley

Yeah Bo Diddley

Oh Bo Diddley

Yeah Bo Diddley