Bo Diddley Oral History Zine

The

Oral History Project Narrated by Scott Free

Scott Smith, or as known by his stage name, Scott Free, is a guitarist who played for major bands such as Parliament Funkadelic. He was also close friends with Bo Diddley, who was instrumental, if not essential, in developing Rock and Roll as we know it.

Bo Diddley is one of music history's most unique rock musicians. In the 50s and 60s, he introduced America to the African American and Latin American-inspired "Bo Diddley Beat," a syncopated rhythm that forms the basis of hundreds of rock songs. For this reason, he is often named as "The Originator" of rock and roll. Bo's music influenced artists such as Elvis Presley,

Bo Diddley Plaza in Downtown

the

Beatles,

the

Rolling

Stones, and many more.

Gainesville, Florida The Bo Diddley Beat

His style of guitar was so different than anything I imagined. It just kinda blew my mind, and it took me some years in order to understand what Bo is truly doing from years of listening to him describe his sound and then years of listening to him play. And like you had talked about the dude that did harmonica that mimicked a train. That's what Bo did with his guitar. He mimicked a train...just the groove was the rhythm of the train. - Scott Free, Interviewed Oct. 1, 2019

Though Bo Diddley popularized the Bo Diddley beat, he did not get ample credit for it. Neither Bo nor his surviving family members receive royalties from songs that directly borrow from him. Bo also did not proportionately benefit financially from starting rock and roll, especially when compared to his White counterparts.

How much of the British invasion is just bringing Bo Diddley back to the United States?

F: That was their plan. I've read several musicians say that's what they intended to do. Yeah. Just the other day I heard a song by The Who [Magic Bus] that really isn't actually a Who song. It's actually a song that they just basically did, I guess, because of the arrogance. I have to say it's arrogance and not ignorance because they just basically took somebody's song and did it. And now they get the writers credit for it. But at least it's slightly different. At least they write some lyrics. No. This song they ripped off, totally. I mean it's just the same song.

Bo's financial difficulties were caused by his record label, Chess Records.

Bo lacked the legal literacy to properly insist on fair contracts. Furthermore, according to Free, the label hid their musician's success in order to cheat them out of proper pay. As a label that promoted Blues and Rock music, many of these musicians were Black.

There's good business, but there's a lot of bad business because the music industry is a good place for bad business. The Chess brothers didn't pay for the tape that Bo recorded “Gunslinger” on. They didn't pay for the electric bill. They didn't pay any of the musicians. But Bo recorded the album and gave them an album that they put out and ripped him off by lying about how many sales, and they didn't give him his gold or platinum record...if you're gonna cheat somebody out of some money, you can't let them know how many records they really sold.

Later, Bo signed a disastrous contract that awarded his lawyers thirty percent royalties from his image and music, as well as complete control over his estate. The lawyers did not explain the terms of this contract properly to Bo or his family.

However,

things

for

Bo's

family are looking up. Under the

counsel

of

attorney

Kendall Minter, Bo's family believes that they can end the cycle of legal neglect, and

finally

receive

what

they are owed.

Illustration & Design by Rachel Hujsa