78 RPM BO DIDDLEY CHECKER 814 FIRST RECORDING I'M A MAN BILLY BOY ARNOLD 1955

$

50

Up for auction is a 1955 r&b / rock & roll / blues 78 rpm recorded by Bo Diddley on Checker 814.

The sides are: I'm A Man / Bo Diddley. (Both reaching #1 on R&B chart)

From Wikipedia…

"Bo Diddley" is a rhythm and blues song first recorded and sung by Bo Diddley at the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago and released on the Chess Records subsidiary, Checker Records in 1955. It became an immediate hit single that stayed on the R&B charts for a total of 18 weeks, 2 of those weeks at #1, and seven more weeks than its flipside (the B-side, "I'm a Man"). It was the first recording to introduce African rhythms into rock and roll directly by using the patted juba beat. It was Bo Diddley's first recording and his first hit single. The song is featured on many of Bo Diddley's compilation albums including His Best.

The song is rhythmically similar to hambone, a technique of dancing and slapping various parts of the body to create a rhythm and song. It is lyrically similar to the traditional lullaby "Hush Little Baby". When Bo Diddley started playing with it, his electric guitar amplified the patted juba with his backup musicians on maracas and drums unifying the rhythm. This combination of rock and roll, African rhythms and sactified guitar chord shouts was a true innovation and is often called a Bo Diddley Beat.

He first titled his version "Uncle John" but before he recorded it, he changed the title to his own nickname Bo Diddly, with an "e" added to the song's title and his professional name by one of the Chess brothers.

Three weeks after Billboard magazine announced the release of "Bo Diddley", on April 30, 1955, the paper announced two remakes of "Bo Diddley" by the Joe Reisman Orchestra and by Jean Dinning. The Harmonicats released their own version, an instrumental, a few weeks later. "Bo Diddley" went on to became the 17th best selling R&B record of 1955, according to Billboard.

This first single was called a "double-sided monster" by All-Music Guide reviewer Richie Unterberger. "Bo Diddley" was infused with waves of tremolo guitar, set to a children's chant. "I'm a Man" was a bump-and-grind shuffle, with a powerful blues riff woven throughout. The outcome was a new kind of guitar-based, blues and R&B-drenched, rock and roll. The song was voted #62 on Rolling Stone magazine's list, "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The song is also a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that shaped Rock and Roll" list. In 1998 "Bo Diddley" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

"I'm a Man" is a song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. A moderately slow blues with a stop-time figure, it was inspired by an earlier blues song and became a #1 R&B chart hit. "I'm a Man" has been acknowledged by Rolling Stone magazine and has been recorded by a variety of artists, including The Yardbirds who had a #17 pop hit in the U.S. in 1965.

"I'm a Man" was released as the B-side of "Bo Diddley", his first single in April 1955. The single became a two-sided hit and reached #1 in the Billboard R&B chart. "I'm a Man" was inspired by Muddy Waters' 1954 song "Hoochie Coochie Man", written by Willie Dixon. After Diddley's release, Waters recorded an "answer song" to "I'm a Man" in May 1955, titled "Mannish Boy", a play on words on Bo Diddley's younger age as it related to the primary theme of the song.

Backing Diddley (vocals and guitar) are Billy Boy Arnold (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Jerome Green (maracas), Willie Dixon (double bass), and either Frank Kirkland or Clifton James (drums). In a Rolling Stone magazine interview, Bo Diddley recounts that the song took a long time to record because of confusion regarding the timing of the "M...A...N" part. The song is included on several of his compilation albums, including Bo Diddley (1958) and His Best (1997). He also recorded it with Muddy Waters and Little Walter for the 1967 Super Blues album. The song is ranked #369 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"

Below are the tracks recorded with NO filtering or noise reduction.

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Grading System:

• NM = near new condition
• E = barely played, extremely close to near new condition
• VG = played, but not abused condition, should play very well, may have light scratches, scuffs
• G = well played, but should play pretty well, will have deeper scratches, scuff; may have some background noise, scratches, scuffs, wear
• P = well used, pretty bad condition, lots of background noise

Grades G+ with decent shine remaining. Has light scratches & scuffs. (Please use the Full Screen & Zoom features on the pictures to get a more accurate depiction of the playing surfaces). Photos have not been photoshopped (contrasted or enhanced) other than cropping out the wax & spindle hole in the main picture. A decent player.    

This record will be very securely packaged for shipment. Please let me know if you would like your records insured.

I try my best to describe and grade these as accurately as possible...I will gladly accept returns if you are not satisfied.

Good luck!