The “Bo Diddley” Beat
It’s inevitable:
Almost every week, I either get email or someone stopping me to ask how a band got a specific beat. Last week, it was about I Want Candy. Just this morning, someone wrote in and said the Deep Purple hit, Hush, had a familiar beat. Who orginated(sic) that type of beat? they asked.
Well, the famed Bo Diddley Beat came from the artist himself, blues legend Bo Diddley (Elias McDaniel), who passed away in June of last year.
Many of his signature songs were known by their jungle-like rhythm pattern. And, since his song, Bo Diddley introduced that rhythm in 1955, it seemed hundreds of artists (in many musical genres) began patterning some of their material after this man and his beat.
HERE’S HOW HE GOT IT: The style actually stems from early forms of latin and afro-cuban rhythms (clave) derived from their respective countries.
It’s important to note that this rhythm was also used for years as the
playful music knock, “Shave and a Haircut”,… “Two Bits”.
How to play it:
Another simple beat to learn but important to make it swing!
Play singles from hand to hand on the floor tom accentuating the clave (top line) below. Bass drum can match the clave or play “4 on the floor” (bottom line). Guitarist and/or bass player will play simultaneous lines so it is important to keep a steady tempo to be in sync with them.
Use the afro-cuban son clave below as your foundation. For those that don’t read, it’s:
1 (2) and (3) 4 - (1) 2 3 (4)
Variations:
Many drummers play this beat on the floor tom as mentioned above.
Others play it as a rudimental snare groove (New Orleans style) and still
others play the Bo Diddley beat within a standard, syncopated rock groove on drums.
Examples (Songs)
Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly, Rolling Stones
Willie & the Hand Jive - Johnny Otis Show
I Want Candy - Strangeloves
Women are Smarter - Grateful Dead
Magic Bus - The Who
She’s the One - Bruce Springsteen
Faith - George Michael
Desire - U2
July 27th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Awesome post! I really enjoyed this. It’s great to find out the root of these iconic sounds. And yes, it often comes from old blues/soul artists. It would be cool if you did a series of this kind of stuff. Getting back to the root of rock & roll/pop. Keep it up, I enjoy the blog.