ROAD RUNNER BO

Happy Weekend, Spy Vibers! I had just a bit of teaching duties this week and can now relax into a nice break. I'm hoping to get a lot done on my upcoming Spy Vibe book (stay tuned!). Let's get moving with some classic live Bo Diddley- and Road Runner! In other news, check out my episodes of Cocktail Nation radio as I introduce some of the great spy classics and soundtracks: Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Episode #4 (Roger Moore/The Saint), and Episode #5 (The Avengers), Episode #6 (The Prisoner), and Episode #7 (The Ipcress File), Episode #8 (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). Enjoy! Related post: Bo Diddley, Meet Bo Diddley & the Duchess, Space Age Guitars, Road Runner, Hey Bo Diddley, Shindig, The Duchess & Liberation.

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Interview: Ed Hulse Pulp, Avengers Audio Drama, Interview: Callan At 50, Interview: Playboys, Spies, Private Eyes, TWA Returns, Spy Vibe Radio 8, Interview: Ryan Heshka, Mid-Century Modern Schulz, Agent Werewolf, Mata Hair Exhibit, Johnny Sokko 50th, Interview: Trina Robbins, Eddie Izzard, The Prisoner Capt Scarlet 50th, Hugh Hefner R.I.P., Jack Good R.I.P., Interview: Shaken Not Stirred, Callan 50th, Spy Vibe Radio 7, The Prisoner 50th Event, Spy-Fi Event, Kaho Aso 007, Two Million, Bo Diddley, Carnaby Pop, Le Carre Events, Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview: Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.

BO DIDDLEY

Its always interesting to look at cross-pollination in pop culture, and the music scene in the early-mid 1960s was no exception. British kids inspired by African-American artists dedicated themselves to a mission: to honor their heroes by playing American roots music with reverence, and by citing their sources during concerts and television appearances. Kids like The Beatles, Clapton, and the Stones helped to spread the gospel, as it were, and they turned on a wider audience to their heroes, who had been, up to that point, limited to black labels and small venues. The Brits essentially reintroduced North America to its own largely forgotten and ignored culture and made it mainstream. And where artists like Howlin Wolf and Jimmy Reed found new success during the era, there were a few musicians who had already broken through the barriers in the States by crossing over to Rock and Roll in the early days of the form. I'd like to return today to one such hero -an old Spy Vibe favorite- Bo Diddley! Where would the 1960s have been without his trademark beat? And just to set the record straight, these are but a few of the UK acts who covered Bo: The Yardbirds, The Who, The Animals, The Shadows, The Rolling Stones, The Pretty Things, The Kinks, The Merseybeats, Manfred Mann, The Birds, and the Liverbirds. 

Elias McDaniel (1928-2008) moved from Mississippi up to Chicago as a young boy, where childhood pals gave him the nickname "Bo Diddley." The name stuck as a moniker through some early years as a fighter and onto the stage as a musician. Bo dreamed about pounding out traditional drum patterns and, inspired by John Lee Hooker, soon took to the guitar as a percussive instrument. This was the era in Chicago when Chess and VeeJay were pumping the airwaves with the sounds of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Jimmy Reed, and newcomer Chuck Berry. Bo knew that he couldn't do what they did on the guitar, so he went back into his corner (as he puts it in interviews) and figured out his own trade-mark approach to playing. That drummer instinct came through strong and we have what is now commonly called "The Bo Diddley Beat" - a Rumba-style rhythm that added the Hambone playfulness of banging out beats and rhymes. Bo didn't invent it, per se, but he certainly popularized it. Spy Vibers can hear some really raw iterations of the beat in the fife and drum music of northern Mississippi, for example.

Bo's side-guitar player left for the service in 1956 and was replaced by a female musician named Peggy Jones ("Lady Bo"). She established a swinging stage vibe with Bo Diddley and is known as one of the first female lead guitarists. The uncommon site of their male/female act, accentuated by the two rectangular guitars, was quite sizzling (and even erotic). Lady Bo was replaced in 1962 by Norma-Jean Wofford ("The Duchess"/above), who continued to boogie with Diddley as a rocking lady strummer. Together they made quite a few television appearances between 1962-1966 that captured their contagious, throbbing beat and cool moves- not to mention the stage-side Go Go dancers and teen audience! Check out some throbbing Bo Diddley beat below. In other news, check out my episodes of the Cocktail Nation radio show, where I introduce classic spy films/TV series and play soundtracks and rare cuts: Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Episode #4 (Roger Moore/The Saint), and Episode #5 (The Avengers). Episode #6 (The Prisoner). Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.

BO DIDDLEY: FLASHBACK

Enjoy the start to your week with a Spy Vibe flashback. Last summer we celebrated the signature beat of Bo Diddley and looked at how his partnership with female musicians and his choice of guitars echoed the women's liberation movement and space-age designs of the early-mid 1960s. Grab your Gretsch Jupiter, hop on that scooter, and let's go for a ride!

Meet Bo Diddley & the Duchess
Space Age Guitars
Road Runner
Hey Bo Diddley
Shindig
The Duchess & Liberation

Spy Vibers interested in seeing more about Shindig, Hollywood a Go Go, and Go Go dancers should check out the Spy Vibe archives from June 2010. Shake it up.

BO WEEK: THE DUCHESS & LIBERATION

Spy Vibe continues to look at Bo Diddley in the early-mid 1960s. As a fan who listened to Bo's music without seeing film footage until recently (thank you, YouTube), I was really inspired by the television appearances we looked at last week. I never realized that Bo shared the stage with a cool, guitar-playing hottie! Bo is rather like The Avengers' John Steed of Chess Records. In the largely male-dominated world of Blues and Rock n Roll, the very manly Bo Diddley cooked up a hot stage act by adding a female guitarist, Lady Bo, to share his spotlight. The Duchess replaced Lady Bo and took up the space-age guitar in 1962. Together, she and Bo pounded out the Bo Diddley beat for shows like Shindig!, Hollywood A Go Go, and the Big TNT Show.


Spectropop celebrates The Duchess: "Lending her inimitable style to the grooves (and sleeves) of 1962's "Bo Diddley & Company" and 1963's "Bo Diddley's Beach Party" albums, she accompanied him on his first tour of England that same year, where her guitar prowess created a stir equaled only by that of her skin-tight gold lamé cat suit. Asked by one dauntless investigator how she managed to get into it, [The Duchess] responded by pulling out an over-sized shoehorn. Eric Burdon later immortalised her in the Animals' "Story Of Bo Diddley".


Like the women of The Avengers, The Duchess presented an interesting juxtaposition of strength (rocking out with cool confidence) and objectification (hot chick with guitar). Maybe objectification is too strong a word? Like Blackman and Rigg, I think she presented a healthy balance- an individual who was both equal partner and keeper of their own sexual power.

Seeing those performances by Bo and The Duchess got me thinking about the cultural climate of the times. There were big changes for young men and women in the early 1960s. The birth control pill was approved by the FDA in 1960. Hugh Hefner's Playboy was moving into its second decade and continued to represent a revolution away from the post-war family/suburbia ideal. Hef's company grew with the times, celebrating a sophisticated singles' life through a chain of clubs and new ventures into TV (party-style talk shows) and an annual jazz festival. It was rather like the Roaring 20s, with similar images of hot music, flapper girls, and new contraception. Liberated young adults (and their dollars) in the early-mid 1960s generated cultural trends in all areas of the Arts. For women, it was a time of both freedom and continued objectification.

Spy Vibe faves Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg from The Avengers stood out as strong, individual role models. The creators of The Avengers thought to have Blackman dress more like a man for the action scenes (she did many indoor scenes in her black underwear). Her leather gear serendipitously brought both action-agility and kinky eroticism. Courreges' white moon boots and mini skirts of the mid-1960s offered a similar juxtaposition of space-age toughness coupled with exposed-thigh titillation (a style that became a Go Go dancing uniform). Lady Bo, The Duchess, and The Avengers may symbolize a kind of liberation, certainly in comparison to the bikini voyeurism of, say, the playful Dr. Goldfoot films. I don't know what Bo's motivations were to first invite Lady Bo and The Duchess on stage. Maybe he was inspired by Les Paul and Mary Ford? I doubt that he was thinking of feminism as much as he wanted to heat up his stage act. Regardless of how these ladies got to the spotlight, Bo's female guitarists were ahead of their time.

In this clip from Hollywood A Go Go, Bo and The Duchess perform a song that sums up the plot of most early Rock movies, "Let the Kids Dance!" Keep your eyes on those Go Go dancers. We'll take a closer look at them next. B&W Photo from Getty Images.

BO WEEK: SHINDIG

Bo Diddley Week continues with a fantastic live performance by Bo and The Duchess on Shindig! August 18, 1965. This was the year of the spy boom, The Beatles' HELP!, and as Spy Vibers have seen over this past week, an era that offered a lot of live TV coverage for our man BO! One venue was the musical variety show, Shindig! (1964-1966) hosted by disc jockey Jimmy O'Neill. This appearance features the rowdy, rhythmic explosion of Give Me a Break, followed by You Can't Judge a Book By its Cover. Bo and The Duchess are once again decked out with space age guitars and a dynamic duo vibe. Check out the back of the stage for a line of swingin' Go Go dancers!

BO WEEK: HEY BO DIDDLEY

Today Bo Week goes super live with Bo and The Duchess pumping out a ruckus versions of Hey Bo Diddley. Check out the camera work around 1:30. Bo is the man! The Duchess and the gals then start a groovy dance as the band goes into Bo Diddley. The hypnotic rhythm and monotone costuming from the stage is a cool counterpoint to the crazy dynamics in the audience. Like those familiar scenes from Beatles concerts, you will see 60s teens wrapped in a chaos of fashions and liberated by the music. I love seeing this band at work. The dual Space Age guitars and slick choreography are only the tip of a very deep, primal, and rowdy iceberg.

BO WEEK: ROAD RUNNER

Earlier this week you met Bo Diddley and The Duchess as they ripped it up for Hollywood A Go Go in 1965 with their Space Age guitars. Bo Week continues today with the dynamic duo strumming out their contagious rhythm for a live audience with the classic cartoon-inspired hit, Road Runner!

BO WEEK: SPACE AGE GUITARS

Bo Week continues with another performance on Hollywood A Go Go from 1965. In this clip, Bo and The Duchess run us through a hot (lip synced) version of Let Me Pass. In the spirit of the Space Age, Bo designed a trilogy of futuristic guitars. I've read that he worked with a Gretsch production man named Giulliano in White Plains, NY. They used Gretsch necks, hence the company logo on the head stocks, but the bodies were custom made for Bo. His famous "Box" version has been called minimalist modern art. Bo also played the "Jupiter Thunderbird" and a "Cadillac" Fin-inspired axe that we see in many promotional photographs and performances. Bo's Space Age guitar trilogy continues to influence various production models and they are a special passion for contemporary designer, Ed Roman. Gretsch now produces signature editions of both the Box and Jupiter guitars, including a short-scale Box called the "Mini Diddley!" Images below of the three designs (Box, Jupiter, Cadillac), followed by Bo and The Duchess ripping it up for 1965 TV.