''Bo Diddley'' is the eighth studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

pioneer

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

, not to be confused with the 1958

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

of the same name. The 1962 album was released as Checker LP-2984 in August 1962 and featured the Willie Dixon-penned classic "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover", which was released as a 7" 45 rpm

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in July 1962.

Success in Britain

In Britain, ''Bo Diddley'' was released as an LP by

Pye International Records Pye International Records was a record label founded in 1958, as a subsidiary of Pye Records. The company distributed many American labels in the UK, including Chess, Kama Sutra, Buddah, Colpix and King. (There was also an American label of th ...

. The UK release charted at #11 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. The success of the album followed the UK package tour that Bo had begun at the beginning of the year with

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

, Little Richard, and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. Due to the album's success in the UK, many

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

bands recorded songs from the record.

Track listing

All songs were written and composed by Ellas McDaniel (Bo Diddley), except where noted. ;Side one #"I Can Tell" (Samuel Smith, McDaniel) – 4:27 #"Mr. Khrushchev" – 2:56 #"Diddling" – 2:12 #"Give Me a Break" – 2:07 #"Who May Your Lover Be" – 2:54 #"Bo's Bounce" – 1:35 ;Side two #"

You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" (alternatively "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover") is a 1962 song by rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Written by Willie Dixon, the song was one of Diddley's last record chart hits. Unlike many of his ...

" ( Willie Dixon) – 2:43 #"Babes in the Woods" – 2:10 #"Sad Sack" – 2:38 #"Mama Don't Allow No Twistin'" – 2:10 #"You All Green" – 3:03 #"Bo's Twist" – 2:32

Personnel

;Performers *Bo Diddley – lead vocals,

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

Jerome Green Jerome Green (c.1934 – c.1973) was an American percussionist and occasional lyricist and vocalist, known for playing maracas and acting as Bo Diddley's foil in his performances and on his recordings in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography G ...

–

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Peggy Jones – rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Frank Kirkland – drums *Clifton James – drums * Willie Dixon – bass ;Production *

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepen ...

– producer *

Phil Chess Philip Chess (born Fiszel Czyż; March 27, 1921 – October 18, 2016) was a Polish-born American record producer and company executive, the co-founder with his brother of Chess Records. Early life Chess was born to a Polish-Jewish family in the ...

– supervision *

Ron Malo Ronald Clements Malo (August 29, 1935 in Illinois – August 15, 1992 in Burbank, California) was an American engineer for Chicago's Chess Studios from 1959 until 1970. He was the engineer for the first sessions the Rolling Stones did in the US, i ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

*Don Bronstein – cover art

Charts

On the

''Bo Diddley'' reached #11 on November 2, 1963. The album reached #117 on the '' Billboard'' magazine's Top LP's chart.

References

{{Authority control Bo Diddley albums 1962 albums Checker Records albums Albums produced by Ralph Bass