Before You Accuse Me

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"Before You Accuse Me"
Before You Accuse Me single cover.jpg
Single by Bo Diddley
A-side "Say! Boss Man"
ReleasedFebruary 1958 (1958-02)
RecordedAugust 15, 1957
Genre
Length2:40
Label Checker
Songwriter(s) Ellas McDaniel a.k.a. Bo Diddley
Producer(s) Leonard Chess
Bo Diddley singles chronology
"Hey! Bo Diddley"
(1957)
"Before You Accuse Me"
(1958)
"Hush Your Mouth"
(1958)

"Before You Accuse Me" (also known as "Before You Accuse Me (Take a Look at Yourself)") is a song written and recorded by American musician Bo Diddley in 1957. The song was originally released as the B-side to Diddley's "Say Bossman" and included on his self-titled debut album in 1958. [2] Backing Diddley on vocal and guitar on the original recording were Jody Williams on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, and Frank Kirkland on drums. [3] The song has also been recorded by several other artists, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Eric Clapton.

Contents

Renditions

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival recorded "Before You Accuse Me" for their fifth studio album, Cosmo's Factory (1970). [4] Lead singer John Fogerty contributed both guitar and piano parts for the song. Biographer Thomas M. Kitts commented on the song's lyrics:

The singer tries to deflect criticism off himself and back to his lover ... It is quite possible that Fogerty may have selected "Before You Accuse Me" to send a message to the band. Clearly. tension was mounting and expressions of dissatisfaction with Fogerty's leadership were escalating. "Before you accuse me," he might be suggesting, "look at yourself" and consider your prowess and your contributions to the band, musical and managerial. [4]

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton recorded "Before You Accuse Me" several times during his career. An electric version is included on his 1989 album Journeyman . [5] It was used as the B-side for his best-selling single "Pretending" and reached number nine on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1990. [5]

In 1992, an acoustic version was included on his Unplugged album. [5] Another acoustic version outtake, recorded during the sessions for Backless (1978), is included as the opening track on the Clapton compilation Blues (1999). [5] He also performed "Before You Accuse Me" in concert, such as on June 30, 1990, at the Knebworth Festival. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creedence Clearwater Revival</span> American rock band

Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. These members had played together since 1959, first as the Blue Velvets and later as the Golliwogs, before settling on Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967. The band's most prolific and successful period between 1969 and 1971 produced fourteen consecutive top 10 singles and five consecutive top 10 albums in the United States – two of which, Green River (1969) and Cosmo's Factory (1970), reached number one. The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival in Upstate New York, and was the first major act signed to appear there.

<i>Cosmos Factory</i> 1970 studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Cosmo's Factory is the fifth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records on July 8, 1970. Six of the album's eleven tracks were released as singles in 1970, and all of them charted in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album spent nine consecutive weeks in the number one position on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1990. Rolling Stone ranked it number 413 on its 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

<i>Creedence Clearwater Revival</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

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<i>Bayou Country</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Bayou Country is the second studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records on January 15, 1969, and was the first of three albums CCR released in that year. Bayou Country reached number 7 on Billboard's album chart and produced the band's first No. 2 hit single, "Proud Mary".

<i>Green River</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

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"Born on the Bayou" (1969) is the first track on Creedence Clearwater Revival's second album, Bayou Country, released in 1969. It was released as the B-side of the single "Proud Mary" that reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts. The song was covered by Little Richard.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lookin' out My Back Door</span> 1970 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Lookin' out My Back Door" is a song recorded by the American band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Written by the band's lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter John Fogerty, it is included on their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory; this was the group's fifth album, and was also their fifth and final number-two Billboard hit, held off the top by Diana Ross's version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". It was their only Cash Box Top 100 number-one hit.

Creedence Country is a compilation album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). It was released by Fantasy Records in October 1981 with the purpose of infiltrating the country market.

"Who'll Stop the Rain" is a song written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival for their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory. Backed with "Travelin' Band", it was one of three double-sided singles from that album to reach the top five on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and the first of two to reach the No. 2 spot on the American charts, alongside "Lookin' Out My Back Door"/"Long As I Can See the Light". In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 188 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lodi (Creedence Clearwater Revival song)</span> 1969 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Lodi" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Recorded in March 1969, it was released in April, four months before the album, as the B-side of "Bad Moon Rising", the lead single from Green River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green River (song)</span> 1969 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Green River" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was written by John Fogerty and released as a single in July 1969, one month before the album of the same name was released. "Green River" peaked at number two for one week, behind "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies, and was ranked by Billboard as the No. 31 song of 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long As I Can See the Light</span> 1970 song by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Long As I Can See the Light" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, from the album Cosmo's Factory. Released as the flip side of the single "Lookin' Out My Back Door" in 1970, it reached number 57 on the Cash Box singles chart in the US, number 20 in the UK and number one in Norway.

<i>Creedence Clearwater Revival Covers the Classics</i> 2009 compilation album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival Covers the Classics is a compilation album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Released in 2009, the album contains cover versions of songs as recorded by the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie and the Hand Jive</span> 1958 single by Johnny Otis

"Willie and the Hand Jive" is a song written by Johnny Otis and originally released as a single in 1958 by Otis, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song has a Bo Diddley beat and was partly inspired by the music sung by a chain gang Otis heard while he was touring. The lyrics are about a man who became famous for doing a dance with his hands, but the song has been accused of glorifying masturbation, though Otis always denied it. It has since been covered by numerous artists, including The Crickets, The Strangeloves, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard, Kim Carnes, George Thorogood, The Bunch, and in live performances by The Grateful Dead. Clapton's 1974 version was released as a single and reached the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 26. Thorogood's 1985 version reached No. 25 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commotion (song)</span> 1969 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Commotion" is a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival from the album Green River, and was also the B-side of the single release of the album's title track. In 1980, "Tombstone Shadow" b/w "Commotion'" was released as a single in the United States. While released as a B-side, "Commotion" reached #30 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 in Germany. It was written by John Fogerty and recorded at Wally Heider's Studios in San Francisco in June 1969. The 45rpm was the debut session of the band at Wally Heider's and the first collaboration with engineer Russ Gary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It Came Out of the Sky</span> 1970 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"It Came Out of the Sky" is a song written by John Fogerty that was included on Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys. It was also released as a single in some countries and has appeared on several of the group's compilation albums. It was included occasionally in the group's live set even after John Fogerty left the group and the remaining members reformed as Creedence Clearwater Revisited.

"Don't Look Now " is a song written by John Fogerty that was first released on Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys. It has also appeared on several of the group's live and compilation albums. It was covered by Minutemen on their 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime.

"Keep On Chooglin'" is a song written by John Fogerty that was first released as the final song on Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album Bayou Country. The song was often used to close Creedence Clearwater Revival concerts and was later covered by several other artists including Fogerty as a solo artist. The song popularized the neologism "chooglin'."

References

  1. Segretto, Mike (2022). "Rock and Roll: The First Eight Years". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 13. ISBN   9781493064601.
  2. Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. p. 302. ISBN   978-1-84195-312-0.
  3. Schnieders, Bob (1997). Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley (CD reissue liner notes). Bo Diddley. Universal City, California: Chess Records/MCA Records. CHD-5904.
  4. 1 2 Kitts, Thomas M. (2015). John Fogerty: An American Son. New York City: Routledge. p. 121. ISBN   978-0-415-71346-7.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bowling, David (2013). Eric Clapton FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Slowhand. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. eBook. ISBN   978-1617135743.