Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]
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Performer Notes
Personnel includes: Bo Diddley (vocals, guitar); Peggy Jones (guitar); Jesse James Johnson (bass); Bill Downing, Frank Kirkland, Clifton James (drums); Jerome Green (maracas).
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois in 1960. Originally released on Checker (2977). Includes liner notes by Chris Morris.
Personnel: Bo Diddley (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Peggy Jones (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Gene Barge (tenor saxophone); Billy Stewart (piano, background vocals); Lafayette Leake, Otis Spann (piano); Jesse James Johnson (electric bass); Clifton James, Billy Downing (drums); Jerome Green (maracas, background vocals); Gloria Morgan, Nate Nelson, Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Carter, Lily "Bee Bee" Jamieson (background vocals).
Liner Note Author: Bud Scoppa.
Recording information: Bo Diddley's Washington D.C. Home Studio (10/1959-02/1960); New York, NY (10/1959-02/1960).
Though Bo Diddley never achieved the commercial success of his Chess label mate Chuck Berry, his contributions to the early evolution of rock & roll are no less significant, and, if nothing else, Diddley should be enshrined for being so freaky, funky, and downright rocking--a perfect distillation of the genre's attitude. Fortunately, the music is irrepressible as well: The primal "Bo Diddley beat," the gospel-tinged backing vocals, the snaky shake of Jerome Green's maracas, and Diddley's tremolo-heavy guitar riffs and boasting shout-croon all come together in an exquisite rave-up package.
It's worth picking up 1960's BO DIDDLEY IS A GUNSLINGER for the cover art alone (Diddley in full cowboy regalia about to "draw" his mean-looking git fiddle). The music--cleaned up here on this 2004 reissue--is great too: Cowpoke clippity-clop rhythms join the melange of ballads, session patter, R&B, blues, and unbridled rock & roll energy. "Gun Slinger" and "Cadillac" rip things up in classic Bo style, whereas "Somewhere" goes tender and melodic, while "Working Man" borders on a field holler. This is one gem of a record.
Professional Reviews
Uncut (p.123) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[The album confirms] his status as both the most avant-garde and irresistibly good-time groover in the Chess stable."
Mojo (Publisher) (7/02, p.165) - "...Veering from the archetypal work'n'sweat of 'Sixteen Tons' and 'Working Man' to hard-as-nails rock in 'Cadillac' and 'Ride On Josephine'. It's a Bo classic."
