''Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger'' is the fifth studio album by American

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 ...

released in December 1960 by Checker Records. The album title comes from the album's first track called "Gunslinger" and the cover art has Bo Diddley dressed in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-style clothing. The songs for ''Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger'' were recorded from October 1959 to February 1960. Several tracks of interest are "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliff ...

" which Bo was supposed to perform on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'', the title track, and "Diddling" (an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

between guitar and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Songs

"Gunslinger"

This song was originally released as the a-side of Checker single 965 in November 1960. The singles B-side "Signifying Blues" was never released on the album. The song features a

Bo Diddley beat The Bo Diddley beat is a syncopated musical rhythm that is widely used in rock and roll and pop music. The beat is named after rhythm and blues musician Bo Diddley, who introduced and popularized the beat with his self-titled debut single, "Bo Di ...

. Warren Zevon performed the song as "Bo Diddley's a Gunslinger" on his 1981 live album ''

Stand in the Fire ''Stand in the Fire'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, released December 26, 1980. It was recorded in August 1980 during a five-night residency at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California and featured two new ori ...

''.

"Ride on Josephine"

"Ride on Josephine" was a

song with backing vocals and piano work by either Otis Spann,

Lafayette Leake Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 – August 14, 1990) was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chic ...

, or

Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist who was popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James ...

. The song has been covered by George Thorogood & The Destroyers,

Sleepy LaBeef Thomas Paulsley LaBeff (July 20, 1935 – December 26, 2019), known professionally as Sleepy LaBeef, was an American singer and musician. Early life LaBeef was born in Smackover, Arkansas, the youngest of 10 children. The family name was origin ...

, Eric Sardinas, and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

"Sixteen Tons"

Bo Diddley was asked to perform "Sixteen Tons" on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' but performed "

" instead .

"Cadillac"

The song "Cadillac" features

Gene Barge James Gene Barge (born August 9, 1926) is an American tenor and alto saxophonist, composer in several bands, and actor. Biography Born in Norfolk, Virginia in August 1926, he was a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, which ...

on tenor saxophone, and has been covered by

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

The Downliners Sect Downliners Sect are an English R&B and blues-based rock band, formed in the 1960s beat boom era. Stylistically, they were similar to blues-based bands such as The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things and the Rolling Stones, playing basic R&B on thei ...

, New Colony Six, and sung as a duet by

and

Linda Gail Lewis Linda Gail Lewis (born July 18, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She has recorded with Stephen Ackles, Van Morrison, and with her brother, Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an A ...

. Cadillac was also the name of the guitar that is featured on the album's front cover.

Other songs/styles

The song "Googlia Moo", as well as "No More Lovin'" and others, gives the album a doo-wop feel.

Track listing

Personnel

''Per allmusic'' *

– 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 –

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 ...

* Willie Dixon – bass *Bobby Baskerville – bass *Jesse James Johnson –

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

*Billy Downing – drums *Clifton James – drums *

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Otis Spann – piano *

– piano * Peggy Jones – rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Johnny Carter – backing vocals *

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

– backing vocals *Lily "Bee Bee" Jamieson – backing vocals *Gloria Morgan – backing vocals *Nate Nelson – backing vocals *

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...

– producer *Andy McKaie – Reissue producer *Vartan – Art direction

Charts

The album spent one week on the UK Album Charts on November 9, 1963 at No. 20.

Release history

References

{{Authority control Bo Diddley albums 1962 albums Checker Records albums Albums produced by Leonard Chess Albums produced by Phil Chess Albums produced by Bo Diddley