PREEMPTIVE REVENGE

9.22.2011

Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley


Bo Diddley at Ed Sullivan in 1955:

Diddley was instructed to perform Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons", but instead launched into his no. 1 hit "Bo Diddley", exposing the American public to rock and roll, a wicked new sound that would soon become a national obsession. According to Diddley's biography Living Legend, Sullivan was furious, telling the young musician, "You are the first black boy to ever double-cross me."
Diddley felt the inflection placed on the word "black" was just as bad as the "n word", and when his manager said, "That's Mr. Sullivan!", Diddley snapped back, "I don't give a shit about Mr. Sullivan, he don't talk to me like that!", and was banned from any future appearances on the show.

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