I'm making a collection of songs inspired by the Bo Diddley beat, which is arguably one of the most infectious and well-known rhythms in rock music.
Here's what I've compilled so far:
Elvis Presley - "His Latest Flame"Bruce Springsteen - "She's The One"U2 - "Desire"Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Willie the Wimp"The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?"Roxette - "Harleys And Indians (Riders In The Sky)"Dee Clark - "Hey Little Girl"Johnny Otis - "Willie and the Hand Jive"George Michael - "Faith"Normaal - "Kearl van Stoahl"Elton John - "Billy Bones And The White Bird"The Strangeloves - "I Want Candy"Ace Frehley - "New York Groove"KT Tunstall - "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"Primal Scream - "Movin' on Up"The Who - "Magic Bus"David Bowie - "Panic in Detroit" The Pretenders - "Cuban Slide"The Police - "Deathwish" Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders - "The Game of Love"The Supremes - "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes"Jefferson Airplane - "She Has Funny Cars" The Beatles - "She's a Woman" The White Stripes - "Screwdriver" The Byrds - "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe" Tiny Letters - "Song For Jerome Green"The Stooges - "1969"Guns N' Roses - "Mr Brownstone"Buddy Holly - "Not Fade Away"Jimmy Ray - "Are you Jimmy Ray?"Megapuss - "A gun on his hip and a rose on his chest"
Anyone know some more?
― Moka, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:04 (fifteen years ago) link
David Bowie - "Jean Genie"
― snoball, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:09 (fifteen years ago) link
JAMC - "Bo Diddley is Jesus"Gun Club - "Walkin with the Beast"
― The Vamps of '28 (unregistered), Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:12 (fifteen years ago) link
David Bowie - "Jean Genie"― snoball, miércoles 5 de noviembre de 2008 23:09 (10 minutes ago)
― snoball, miércoles 5 de noviembre de 2008 23:09 (10 minutes ago)
No... well, not quite. It does have an almost exact riffing as "Blockbuster" by The Sweet.
― Moka, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:24 (fifteen years ago) link
Here's Panic in Detroit by Bowie. This one is definitely influenced by the Bo Diddley beat:
― Moka, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:25 (fifteen years ago) link
And here's the original in case you've never heard it before.
― Moka, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Diceman by The Fall.
And lots of other Fall tracks that I can't quite remember at this moment.
― Sven Hassel Schmuck, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 23:41 (fifteen years ago) link
Compiled this list the day he died, though I missed thousands, obviously (the one I noticed most recently was "Chip N Tony," off the new Alejandro Escovedo album):
http://blog.rhapsody.com/2008/06/bos-beat-goes-o.html
Ben Ratliff did a list for the NY Times here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/arts/03sound.html
― xhuxk, Thursday, 6 November 2008 13:45 (fifteen years ago) link
About half the Gories catalogue, including some great cover versions i.e. "Hey Crawdaddy"
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 6 November 2008 14:15 (fifteen years ago) link
Sexton Ming - You Can't Polish A Turd
― NickB, Thursday, 6 November 2008 14:21 (fifteen years ago) link
I started a thread called "Best Song with the Bo Diddley Beat (that wasn't by Bo Diddley)" last year, but I can't find it, so it must have been on the Sandbox.
― Rock Hardy, Thursday, 6 November 2008 14:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, remember that one.
― Mark G, Thursday, 6 November 2008 14:28 (fifteen years ago) link
James Brown, "Get It Together"
― Sara Sara Sara, Thursday, 6 November 2008 14:32 (fifteen years ago) link
Rolling Stones - "Mona"
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 6 November 2008 15:04 (fifteen years ago) link
(that's a cover tho)
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 6 November 2008 15:05 (fifteen years ago) link
"Sudden Organ" - Yo La Tengo. It was basically the reason I started that thread last year, so great.
― Rock Hardy, Thursday, 6 November 2008 15:10 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh FUCK yeah. One of the greatest live music experiences I ever had was watching "Sudden Organ" rise out of the mists of the "Out the Window" breakdown/freakout.
― Sara Sara Sara, Thursday, 6 November 2008 15:20 (fifteen years ago) link
Bohannon, "Disco Stomp"
Belle Epoque, "Miss Broadway"
― xhuxk, Thursday, 6 November 2008 15:24 (fifteen years ago) link
Love, Bummer in the Summer
... part of
― Ich Ber ein Binliner (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 November 2008 15:27 (fifteen years ago) link
Mona by Craig Mclaughlan and Check-1-2.
― Sven Hassel Schmuck, Thursday, 6 November 2008 16:15 (fifteen years ago) link
The BDB is all over the new album by the Pretenders, Break Up the Concrete
― mottdeterre, Thursday, 6 November 2008 17:36 (fifteen years ago) link
Thomas Dolby, Europa and the Pirate Twins (also its not-so-geat "sequel" Eastern Bloc)
― Paul in Santa Cruz, Thursday, 6 November 2008 17:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Yardbirds-Honey In Your Hips
― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 6 November 2008 17:54 (fifteen years ago) link
New York Dolls, "Trash"Them, "Mystic Eyes"Pretty Things, "Rosalyn"The Clash, "Rudie Can't Fail"Elvis Costello, "Lover's Walk"
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Thursday, 6 November 2008 21:05 (fifteen years ago) link
Bow Wow Wow/Strangeloves - "I Want Candy"
― ▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒ (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 6 November 2008 22:18 (fifteen years ago) link
uh... i swear i ctrl-f'd
― ▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒▓▓████▓▓▒▒ (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 6 November 2008 22:20 (fifteen years ago) link
They all say that.
― Rock Hardy, Thursday, 6 November 2008 22:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Rahid Taha - "Kelma"
― xhuxk, Thursday, 11 December 2008 14:29 (fifteen years ago) link
Aw, can't see it.
― monkey bonkers (╓abies), Thursday, 11 December 2008 14:34 (fifteen years ago) link
I found it and that is the biggest sounding drum in the world.
― monkey bonkers (╓abies), Thursday, 11 December 2008 14:36 (fifteen years ago) link
The Cure - Close To Me
― nate woolls, Thursday, 11 December 2008 14:46 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, "Faith" always seemed to me like what would have happened if some film producers played "Close to Me" for Kenny Loggins and asked him to replicate it.
― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 11 December 2008 15:13 (fifteen years ago) link
Robert Wyatt -- "Heaps of Sheep"
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 13 July 2012 13:23 (eleven years ago) link
Loads of QMS especially in their punkier '68 era.
Several bits of The Moodists one of my alltime favourite OZ bands.
Saw that somebody had mentioned Walkin with The beast by the Gun Club, though I think I may prefer the earlier Ward Dotson version.
Is Tombstone Blues a Bo beat?
wish I could find my Raven compi of the funk Bo era.
― Stevolende, Friday, 13 July 2012 18:49 (eleven years ago) link
The Chocolate Watchband - Gone and Passes By
― 3×5, Saturday, 14 July 2012 03:22 (eleven years ago) link
That Rachid Taha joint is immense. I'm suddenly fantasizing a club were beats are more organic like this one and less guetta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbxdggU6daQ
― Moka, Saturday, 14 July 2012 03:29 (eleven years ago) link
Seeing as "I Want Candy" is on here, you can add Husker Du's "Hare Krsna."
― clemenza, Saturday, 14 July 2012 03:36 (eleven years ago) link
Vivian Stanshall's "Labio-Dental Fricative" has a Bo Diddley vibe to it.
― My Elusive Memes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 22 July 2012 00:26 (eleven years ago) link
Around 1:16, one of the more fascinating interpretations of the Bo Diddley beat:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnO8sHmkbv4
― Sun? Sun? It's your cousin, Marvin Ra (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 23 July 2012 01:23 (eleven years ago) link
deadly snakes, 'talkin' down' from their album i'm not your soldier anymore
― omar little, Monday, 23 July 2012 01:30 (eleven years ago) link
The Exciters - Something to Shout About
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 25 July 2012 12:13 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q6K9fbYP9M
― mod night at the oasis (NickB), Wednesday, 25 July 2012 12:17 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dtWple55nQ
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 11 June 2013 18:34 (ten years ago) link
^ feels a bit like discovering paedo porn
― Eyeball Kicks, Tuesday, 11 June 2013 20:55 (ten years ago) link
HOLY fucking Fuck - that James Brown clip. whew.......
― m0stlyClean, Tuesday, 11 June 2013 21:34 (ten years ago) link
ornette coleman - "voice poetry"
― fact checking cuz, Monday, 12 August 2013 17:20 (ten years ago) link
Matias Aguayo - Bo Jack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st9cbxY9HUA
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 12 August 2013 17:22 (ten years ago) link
that's fantastic.
― fact checking cuz, Monday, 12 August 2013 17:29 (ten years ago) link
not really hearing the bo diddley beat, but cool track
― HOOS next aka won't get steened again (Hurting 2), Monday, 12 August 2013 17:36 (ten years ago) link
oh, and (self promotion alert) i've posted this elsewhere on ILM, but never here. this is me:
https://twitter.com/BoDiddleyBeat
― fact checking cuz, Monday, 12 August 2013 17:44 (ten years ago) link
That's pure Bo Diddley. Jump to 1:30 or something and you can't miss it. And yeah, cool track.
― Eyeball Kicks, Monday, 12 August 2013 18:03 (ten years ago) link
the vocal version makes it a bit more obvious:
https://soundcloud.com/comeme/matias-aguayo-feat-ladybumbox-bo-jack-vocal-version
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 10:07 (ten years ago) link
Another good minimalist take, Deadbeat - "Horns of Jericho"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqYbWk6rwxg
― bendy, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 11:10 (ten years ago) link
Ahh, I think I couldn't really make out the bass thump the first time, low volume on crap office speakers
― HOOS next aka won't get steened again (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 13:37 (ten years ago) link
Waylon Jennings - "Clyde"
― timellison, Thursday, 15 August 2013 01:39 (ten years ago) link
One I noticed today:
Beck - Black Tambourine
― Moka, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 07:50 (nine years ago) link
Can, "I Want More"Eno, "Blank Frank"
― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:38 (three years ago) link
bowie 'sound + vision'chic 'can't stand to love you'cocteau twins 'squeeze-wax'depeche mode 'flexible'
― mookieproof, Thursday, 11 February 2021 23:32 (three years ago) link
bobbie gentry 'reunion'
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 14 September 2021 02:06 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvhNC7pXiGI Rinder and Lewis cover of the Johnny Otis is pretty amazing.
Also found on a mix called Live Mixx made by Eye from Boredoms' (as DJ Chaos), in one of the best sequences there: https://www.discogs.com/release/2791156-DJ-Chaos-X-DJ-Chaos-X
― fpsa, Friday, 25 February 2022 21:26 (two years ago) link
I love that cover
― brimstead, Friday, 25 February 2022 22:00 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL7JSK0w-dc
― mookieproof, Monday, 9 May 2022 00:41 (one year ago) link
Chip E – Time to jack (vocal mix)
the intro lines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RtDKjCgHJU
― fpsa, Tuesday, 20 June 2023 15:58 (nine months ago) link
the link of the rinder and lewis one is offline, here's a diff one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj1eZh0lhP0
― fpsa, Tuesday, 20 June 2023 15:59 (nine months ago) link
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ljjnCgoAWarfqLF6qAEne
let me know what's missing
― mookieproof, Friday, 12 January 2024 02:26 (three months ago) link
(it's more or less chronological)
― mookieproof, Friday, 12 January 2024 02:36 (three months ago) link
This is fun! Bucha post-new wave and songs I didn't really think of as fitting, like "Candy-O" and "i only said" indeed fit.
― bendy, Thursday, 18 January 2024 18:58 (three months ago) link
It has "I Want More" - but not by Can, instead it's a a song by Kaleo which sounds about as little like Bo Diddley as it's possible for a song to be.
― Bulky Pee Pants (Tom D.), Thursday, 18 January 2024 19:08 (three months ago) link
Eno, "Blank Frank"― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:38 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink
― Waterloo Subset (Tom D.), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:38 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink
― Bulky Pee Pants (Tom D.), Thursday, 18 January 2024 19:10 (three months ago) link
This is a fun list of songs, but sooo many of these songs are not the Bo Diddley Beat. The Doobie Brothers songs being some of the most egregious examples. Ya
― bbq, Friday, 19 January 2024 04:18 (two months ago) link
the expanded bo/clave/hambone universe is the concept here I take it. Like, I've never really heard "How Soon is Now" as literally a Bo Diddly beat, but it's fun to put all this syncopation side-by-side.
― bendy, Friday, 19 January 2024 14:50 (two months ago) link