"Say Man" is a song by American musician
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 ...
. Written under his real name of Ellas McDaniel, it was recorded by Bo Diddley in 1958 and released as a single in 1959 on
Checker 931.
The recording became his biggest US pop hit, reaching number 20 on the
Hot 100, and number three on the
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
.
It arose from a
jam session between Diddley and his
maracas
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 GuaranĂ ), also known as tamaracas, were ...
player
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 ...
, and featured Diddley and Green trading insults in the style of the word game known as
The Dozens
The Dozens is a game played between two contestants in which the participants insult each other until one of them gives up. Common in African-American communities, the Dozens is almost exclusively played in front of an audience, who encourage the ...
.
Bo Diddley said of the song: "A lot of the things I did in the Chess studios, we were just goofin' around... They played it back, and it shocked all of us! Of course, they cut out all the dirty parts." Music critic
Maury Dean
Maury Dean is an American musician, author and professor at Suffolk County Community College, whose book "The Rock Revolution" is in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian.
Music
Dean taught a "History of Rock N' Roll" course as well ...
, while rejecting the idea that the track is "the first
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
song", says that it is "the first major soul tune to feature a total spoken patter of pal put-downs to a rockin' beat.... Bo's lightning right hand chops chords like sugar cane. The incessant beat throbs into the hot American evening nocturne of streetwise savvy. Rap - with a side of ghetto-blast humor."
Maury Dean, ''Rock and Roll: Gold Rush'', Algora Publishing, 2003, p.59
/ref>
The recording also appeared on the album ''Go Bo Diddley
''Go Bo Diddley'' is the second album by American rock and roll musician Bo Diddley, released in July 1959. The album was Bo's first studio album that included some material that hadn't been prereleased on singles, and his first LP for Checker R ...
''.
References
1959 singles
Bo Diddley songs
1958 songs
Songs written by Bo Diddley
{{Bo Diddley