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Extensions of Remarks E1807 HON. BOB FILNER

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Extensions of Remarks E1807 HON. BOB FILNER September 16, 2003 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1807 change, you got to roll with the punches and set to sing ‘‘Bo Diddley,’’ Mr. Diddley said guitars—that evolved into a distinctive come up with something new.’’ that the show’s producers asked him to sing backbeat, described by music historians as Mr. Diddley is hardly shy about pro- Tennessee Ernie Ford’s ‘‘Sixteen Tons,’’ then the meter of ‘‘shave-and-a-haircut, two claiming his importance. ‘‘Have I been recog- a huge hit. Mr. Diddley claimed not to know bits.’’ In the background he added maracas, nized? No, no, no. Not like I should have it, so cue cards were quickly written. Mr. which he built from toilet-tank floats, giving been,’’ he said. ‘‘Have I been ripped off? Have Diddley said he thought he was now to per- the music a Latin texture, and he gave more I seen royalty checks? You bet I’ve been form two songs, not one, and he began with rhythm to the drum beat. The lyrics were ripped off.’’ ‘‘Bo Diddley.’’ Later he drawled, ‘‘Man, often delivered staccato, adding to the Mr. Diddley’s sense of grievance is justi- maybe that was ‘Sixteen Tons’ on those pounding rhythm. fied. Like many other musicians of the cards, but all I saw was ‘Bo Diddley.’’’ Sul- The Bo Diddley beat can be traced to West 1950’s, 60’s and earlier, white and black, he livan was enraged, Mr. Diddley recalled. Africa via Cuba. It is also firmly rooted in was exploited by record companies who took ‘‘He says to me, ‘You’re the first black African-American culture. In rural Mis- care of car payments and home bills but boy’—that’s a quote—‘that ever double- sissippi and elsewhere in the South, slaves never provided an accounting of record sales. crossed me,’’’ Mr. Diddley recalled. ‘‘I was were denied access to traditional drums be- Beyond this, his stature and impact as a ready to fight. I was a dude from the streets cause slaveholders feared they could be used composer, arranger, performer, singer and of Chicago, and him calling me a black boy for communication. So they patted out even humorist have been overlooked. was as bad as him saying ‘nigger.’ They rhythm on their bodies. This became Praise From His Peers pulled me away from him because I was ‘‘Hambone,’’ an African-American musical tradition of stomping and slapping once used ‘‘Still the most underrated rock ’n’ roller ready to fall on the dude.’’ He said Mr. Sul- by shoeshine men and still affecting tap of the century,’’ Phil Everly of the Everly livan told him that he would never work in dance, cheerleading and a host of other dis- Brothers once said. television again. ‘‘I was scared,’’ Mr. Diddley parate pursuits. At the same time, the guitar Robert Santelli, chief executive of the Se- acknowledged. beat in the rural fields of the South was a attle-based Experience Music Project, the The final insult, he said, was that he was common rhythm played by children on interactive music museum, concurred. ‘‘Bo is told to return his $750 fee for the show. In fact, Mr. Diddley’s next television ap- homemade single-string instruments rooted the most misunderstood and the least appre- pearance was seven years later on ‘‘The Clay in Africa called diddley bows. ciated pioneer of rock ’n’ roll,’’ he said. Cole Show’’ on WPIX–TV in New York. He And that, of course, was how Bo Diddley ‘‘That beat—that signature Bo Diddley didn’t appear again on a network show for a got his name. beat—is essential to the rhythm of rock ’n’ decade, until he performed on ‘‘Shindig’’ on roll.’’ f Mr. Santelli, a former official at the Rock ABC in 1965. Mr. Diddley was named Otha Ellas Bates at XEMA JACOBSON—2003 JOHNS ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, can find birth on Dec. 30, 1928, in McComb in south- LABOR LEADER OF THE YEAR it in every tributary of rock. ‘‘You hear it western Mississippi, a violent civil rights from Springsteen on down—you hear it in battleground in the 1950’s and 60’s. His moth- the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Yardbirds HON. BOB FILNER er, Ethel Wilson, was 15 or 16; he never knew and those first-generation British bands,’’ he OF CALIFORNIA his father, Eugene Bates. His family were said. ‘‘They were trying to find a balance be- sharecroppers; he was raised by his mother’s IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES tween black blues and rhythm-and-blues and first cousin, Gussie McDaniel. ‘‘In fact, Tuesday, September 16, 2003 rock ’n’ roll, and Bo Diddley was the living Momma Gussie raised my Momma,’’ he said. embodiment of that balance.’’ Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute The death of Mrs. McDaniel’s husband, Joe Levy, the music editor of Rolling Robert, in 1934 and the harshness of the De- Xema Jacobson on receiving the 2003 Johns Stone, says he is undervalued in another pression-era rural South led the family to ‘‘Labor Leader of the Year’’ Award in recogni- way. ‘‘He’s still out there, still making Chicago, where they had relatives. tion of her outstanding contributions to the music,’’ he said. ‘‘Here’s this guy who made In Chicago, destination for so many other working men and women of our community. great records and could still make great Southern blacks, the family changed the Xema is a native San Diegan, a graduate of records if he was given the chance.’’ boy’s name to Ellas Bates McDaniel. Mr. Why Mr. Diddley has never quite succeeded Patrick Henry High School and San Diego Diddley said he thought Chicago schools on the level of Mr. Berry or Little Richard is State University, where she earned a Bach- wouldn’t accept him unless Mrs. McDaniel in large measure a consequence of the racial elor’s Degree in Political Science. After grad- was seen as his legal guardian. thicket that black Rock ’n’ roll performers uating from college, she went to work for Con- Ellas soon showed an an aptitude for traversed in the 50’s and 60’s to gain accept- music. At 8 he saw a boy playing violin and gressman Jim Bates, where she served as a ance by a broad white audience. asked Mrs. McDaniel to buy one. The family Casework Supervisor and Field Representa- Mr. Diddley still speaks of what he calls was on relief. So their church, the Ebenezer tive in his Chula Vista District office. the most humiliating moment of his life. In Missionary Baptist Church on the South In 1990, Xema became actively involved in 1959, the singer recalled, he and some of his Side, began a collection, bought him a violin band members, who were black, began swim- the Labor Movement when the San Diego and paid for lessons—50 cents each—by a ming in a pool on a scorching day at the County Building and Construction Trades classical teacher, O. W. Frederick. Bo played Showboat Casino in Las Vegas. As soon as Council hired her as its Director of the Public classical music until he was 15, when he the band members jumped into the pool, the Works Task Force. In this role, she worked broke a finger. (He can no longer play the white families in it climbed out. A pool at- violin because his fingers are too thick, the with the affiliated building and construction tendant put up a sign that said ‘‘contami- result in part of a short teenage career as an trade unions monitoring public works projects nated water,’’ he recalled. amateur boxer.) in San Diego County for compliance with rel- Mr. Berry achieved enduring success partly But more important, the music of the evant labor laws. In addition, she was respon- because adolescent white audiences found his South Side was the blues, thanks to Muddy buoyant, somewhat naughty enthusiasm as sible for filing complaints for violations, con- Waters and many others who had also moved appealing as black teenagers did. Similarly, tracting Awarding Agencies regarding the pub- to Chicago from Mississippi. Little Richard, in contrast to Mr. Diddley, lic contracting process and representing the went out of his way to appeal to white audi- His First Guitar Council on issues involving public works within ences. But even though his original lyrics to Mr. Diddley began playing the drums but the County. ‘‘Tutti-Frutti’’ were bluntly sexual, his sil- yearned to play guitar and sing like his idol, In 1993, the International Brotherhood of ver-lame suits, pancake makeup, thick the Mississippi-born John Lee Hooker. Mr. Electrical Workers Local 569, Laborers Local eyeshadow and high, slick processed pom- Diddley’s stepsister, Lucille, gave him a gui- 89 and Sheet Metal Workers Local 206 hired padour gave him a high-camp sexual ambi- tar for Christmas in 1940, when he was about Xema to monitor public works projects on their guity that rendered him unthreatening to to turn 12. white teenagers and parents. Bo taught himself to play, experimenting behalf. She has spent seven years monitoring Bo Diddley never quite conquered the ra- and duplicating the sound of his bow on the public works projects throughout San Diego cial divide. As George R. White, author of violin by rapidly flicking his pick across the and Imperial Counties and working with the ‘‘Bo Diddley: Living Legend’’ wrote: guitar strings. (He also played trombone and San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council in ‘‘Diddley remained firmly rooted in the ghet- the drums in the church band.) creating the Labor to Neighbor political edu- to.
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