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"Road Runner" | ||||
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Single by Bo Diddley | ||||
from the album Bo Diddley in the Spotlight | ||||
B-side | "My Story" | |||
Released | January 1960 [1] | |||
Recorded | September 1959 [2] | |||
Studio | Chess Studios (Chicago) | |||
Genre | Rock and roll, blues | |||
Length | 2:24 | |||
Label | Checker [1] | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ellas McDaniel | |||
Producer(s) | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Bo Diddley [2] | |||
Bo Diddley singles chronology | ||||
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"Road Runner" is a 12-bar blues song performed by American rock and roll performer Bo Diddley, originally released as a single by Checker Records in January 1960, [1] and later released on the LP record Bo Diddley in the Spotlight . The song reached #20 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart, [3] and #75 on the Hot 100. [4] The song has since been recorded by many artists.
The beep-beep chorus of the song clearly references the Roadrunner animated character with its triumphant beep-beep.
The session(s) for "Road Runner" took place late September 1959 at Chess Studios in Chicago and backing Diddley (vocals, guitar) were Jerome Green (maracas, backing vocals), Clifton James (drums), guest pianist Otis Spann, Peggy Jones (guitar, backing vocals), and Bobby Baskerville (backing vocals). [2]
The American garage band the Gants released "Road Runner" as a single in 1965 and it made #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is their only Billboard charter. [5]
The early Canadian rock band the Count Victors released a cover version in 1963, [6] Coral 62356.
Many British Invasion artists have recorded "Road Runner":
The song was also recorded as a part of the Backbeat soundtrack by a supergroup consisting of Dave Grohl, Dave Pirner, Thurston Moore, Mike Mills, Greg Dulli and Don Fleming.
The Finnish band Hurriganes covered the song on their 1974 album Roadrunner , considered one of the most iconic rock'n'roll albums in Finland. [8]
Starting in February 2012, the song was being used as the background music in a Mazda car commercial for their SkyActiv technology. A short clip of Diddley singing it was included. [9]
The song was featured in the 2013 Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street . [10]
"Love Is Strange" is a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label.
Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds, or simply Having a Rave Up, is the second American album by the English rock group the Yardbirds. It was released in November 1965, eight months after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton on guitar. It includes songs with both guitarists and reflects the group's blues rock roots and their early experimentations with psychedelic and hard rock. The title refers to the driving "rave up" arrangement the band used in several of their songs.
"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly and his band, the Crickets.
The Gants was an American garage rock band that formed in 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the cultural and geographic Deep South.
"I Wish You Would" is a song recorded by Chicago blues musician Billy Boy Arnold in 1955. It was developed while Arnold was performing with Bo Diddley and incorporates a Diddley-style rhythm. Called "a timeless Chicago blues classic", "I Wish You Would" is Arnold's best-known song and has been recorded by several artists, including the Yardbirds, who recorded it for their debut single in 1964.
"19th Nervous Breakdown" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was recorded in late 1965 and released as a single in February 1966. It reached number 2 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Britain's Record Retailer chart, while topping the charts compiled by Cash Box and NME.
"I'm a Man" is a rhythm and blues song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. Inspired by an earlier blues song, it was one of his first hits. "I'm a Man" has been recorded by a variety of artists, including the Yardbirds, who adapted it in an upbeat rock style.
"Bo Diddley" is a song by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. It introduced the rhythm that became known as the Bo Diddley beat and topped the Billboard R&B chart for two weeks in 1955. The song is included on many of Diddley's compilation albums including Bo Diddley (1958) and His Best (1997). Buddy Holly recorded a version that posthumously became his 2nd highest-charting single in the UK after "It Doesn't Matter Anymore".
"Who Do You Love?" is a song written by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Recorded in 1956, it is one of his most popular and enduring works. The song represents one of Bo Diddley's strongest lyrical efforts and uses a combination of hoodoo-type imagery and boasting. It is an upbeat rocker, but the original did not use the signature Bo Diddley beat rhythm.
Have Guitar Will Travel is the third studio album by rock and roll musician Bo Diddley. It was released on the Checker Records label in 1960.
"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. Backing Diddley on vocal and guitar on the original recording were Jody Williams on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, and Frank Kirkland on drums. The song has also been recorded by several other artists, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Eric Clapton.
"Diddley Daddy" is a song by Bo Diddley. The song was issued as a single on Checker Records in June 1955. His second single, it followed on the heels of the success of the eponymous "Bo Diddley." The song spent four weeks on the Billboard R&B chart in the summer of 1955, peaking at No. 11.
The Pretty Things is the self-titled debut album by the English rock band Pretty Things. Released in 1965 in alternate track listings in the United Kingdom and United States, the album demonstrated the band's raw, loud sound, influenced by American rock and roll musician Bo Diddley.
Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger is the fifth studio album by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley released in December 1960 by Checker Records. The album title comes from the album's first track called "Gunslinger" and the cover art has Bo Diddley dressed in Western-style clothing. The songs for Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger were recorded from October 1959 to February 1960. Several tracks of interest are "Sixteen Tons" which Bo was supposed to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, the title track, and "Diddling".
"Pretty Thing" is a 1955 song written by Bo Diddley and Willie Dixon and performed by Bo Diddley. The song was Diddley's third single release through Checker Records after "Diddley Daddy". In 1963, the song was released in the United Kingdom where it became Diddley's first of only two songs appearing on the UK Singles Chart, the other single being "Hey Good Lookin'".
"You Don't Love Me" is a rhythm and blues-influenced blues song recorded by American musician Willie Cobbs in 1960. Adapted from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "She's Fine She's Mine", it is Cobbs' best-known song and features a guitar figure and melody that has appealed to musicians in several genres.
"You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" is a 1962 song by rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Written by Willie Dixon, the song was one of Diddley's last record chart hits. Unlike many of his well-known songs, "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" does not rely on the Bo Diddley beat. A variety of rock and other performers have recorded renditions of the song.
"Diddy Wah Diddy" is a song written by Willie Dixon and Ellas McDaniel, known as Bo Diddley, and recorded by the latter in 1956. The song shares only its title with Blind Blake's song "Diddie Wah Diddie" recorded in 1929. Over the years, the Bo Diddley song has been covered by many bands and artists, including the Astronauts, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, the Remains, the Twilights, Taj Mahal, the Sonics, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ty Segall Band, and the Blues Band among others.
The Five Faces of Manfred Mann is the debut British and second American studio album by Manfred Mann. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 1964 by His Master's Voice. In late October/early November, the album was released in Canada by Capitol Records. The Canadian track listing was almost the same as the UK version, except it included the hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" instead of "I've Got My Mojo Working". The record has been called "one of the great blues-based British invasion albums; it's a hot, rocking record that benefits from some virtuoso playing as well".
"Good Bye, So Long" is a song written by Ike Turner. It was originally released by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1965.
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