Ray Charles
He says everything started from 'I Got A Woman.' It came out in 1954, and shorlty after Elvis reached the peak, he'd record it, too.
I don't know why, but now Charles is widely known for his much later tracks, like 'Hit The Road Jack' (1961) which are melodic, but it's not the same as with those first 'rockers aside from rock.' That's what I like best of his work:
'What I'd Say'
'Hallelujah, I Love Her So'.
Really Otha Ellas Bates. Probably most people know him from the Animals
(like Bruce Springsteen says he knows Chuck Berry from the Stones, ha ha...). The Story Of Bo
Diddley, etc.
Born 1928.
Also used the name Ellas McDaniels. He started calling himself BD while still in grammar school.
He came from the Delta, but moved to Chicago as a child. Started playing guitar at the age of
TEN. Influenced by John Lee Hooker.
In the sleeve of my new vinyl freshly bought in London's Berwick Street it's written that our
beloved Elvis used to watch him play at the Apollo in Harlem...
In The Beatles' version (very short, unfortunately) from The Star-Club it seems for them it was a show tune rather than something they thought much about. A good 'something else,' but not much more.
Bo recorded for Chess of Chicago, just like Chuck Berry. He is included in blues compilations,
like the quite recent 'Born With The Blues' of Hallmark label.
His best known record, I guess, is 'I'm A Man' from 1955. It's a great one for everybody who
likes Manfred Mann's R&B face, intrumentally better, too-it just makes you dance!
His playing was a crucial inspiration to the Pretty Thigs, who took their name from one of his songs, as well as, naturally, the Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, the Kinks, the Yardbirds and the already mentioned Animals.
Other popular records:
'Standing At The Crossroads',
'Everyday I Have The Blues',
'Got To Move',
'The Sky Is Crying.'
'Rock Island Line'
'Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O'
'Cumberland Gap'
'It Takes A Worried Man (To Sing A Worried Song...)'
-remember those kids on 'Anthology 1'
clapping their hands along to the rhythm at his concert?
A folk singer? Something of the kind -certainly not rock and roll -he was one of the guys
against it... tempting to say -one of the bad guys. Inventor (?) of the skiffle style, how much
do we owe him indeed? I guess we'll never know.