1956
WHO DO YOU LOVE? * BO DIDDLEY * CHECKER 842 * USA
Bo Diddley's fifth for Checker, the incredibly testosterone enhanced lyrics to this song portray a very different sensibility to his rival Chuck Berry over on the sister label Chess. On this self penned song Bo Diddley describes himself, amongst other things, as being able to walk forty four miles of barbed wire! and as the type of man who wears a cobra snake as a neck tie! While Chuck Berry's fifth for Chess To Much Monkey Business depicts himself as the type of guy who has been put upon for a long time, he refers specifically to the military, but the lyrics can be interpreted to take in the wider aspects of society, and even further, if you like, the position of the black man. But, as the song states, he is no longer prepared to put up with it, and seems to be offering a very contemporary form of resistance that of refusal. The two men are in fact both offering a positive message, Bo Diddley's is brash and immediate, while Chuck Berry's is more reflexive and subtle.
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