"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 Guaraní ), 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