TheBo Diddley beat is asyncopated musicalrhythm that is widely used inrock and roll andpop music.^[1][2][3] The beat is named afterrhythm and blues musicianBo Diddley, who introduced and popularized the beat with his self-titled debut single, "Bo Diddley", in 1955. The beat is essentially the Afro-Cubanclave rhythm^[4] or based on the clave^[5][6] or a variation thereof.^[7][8]

Music educator and authorMike Campbell explains that it "shows the relationship between Afro-Cuban music, Americanized Latin rhythms, and rock rhythm ... [The beats] are more active and complicated than a simple rock rhythm, but less complex than a real Afro-Cuban rhythm.^[8]

The Bo Diddley beat is a variation of the 3-2clave, one of the most commonbell patterns found inAfro-Cuban music that has been traced tosub-Saharan African music traditions.^[10] It is also akin to the rhythmic pattern known as "shave and a haircut, two bits",^[11] that has been linked toYoruba drumming from West Africa. A folk tradition called "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes has also been suggested.^[12]

According to musician and authorNed Sublette, "In the context of the time, and especially those maracas [heard on the record], 'Bo Diddley' has to be understood as a Latin-tinged record. A rejected cut recorded at the same session was titled only 'Rhumba' on the track sheets."^[13] Bo Diddley employedmaracas, a percussion instrument used inCaribbean andLatin music, as a basic component of the sound.^[11]Jerome Green was the maraca player on Diddley's early records, initially using the instrument as a more portable alternative to adrum set.^[14] When asked how he began to use this rhythm, Bo Diddley gave many different accounts. In a 2005 interview withRolling Stone magazine, he said that he came up with the beat after listening to gospel music in church when he was twelve years old.^[14]

Prior to Bo Diddley's self-titled song, the rhythm occurred in at least 13 rhythm and blues songs recorded between 1944 and 1955, including two byJohnny Otis from 1948.^[15] In 1944, "Rum and Coca Cola", containing the beat, was recorded bythe Andrews Sisters^[9] and in 1952, a song with similar syncopation, "Hambone", was recorded byRed Saunders' Orchestra with the Hambone Kids.

Later, the beat was included in many songs composed by artists other than Bo Diddley:

• "I Wish You Would" byBilly Boy Arnold (1955)^[11]
• "Not Fade Away" byBuddy Holly (1957)^[16][17][18]
• "Cannonball" byDuane Eddy (1958)^[11][18][19]
• "Willie and the Hand Jive" byJohnny Otis (1958)^[18][20]
• "Hey Little Girl" byDee Clark (1959)^[21]
• "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" byElvis Presley (1961)^[17][18][20]
• "Mickey's Monkey" bythe Miracles (1963)^[20][19]
• "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" bythe Supremes (1963)^[20][19]
• "Rosalyn" byPretty Things (1964)^[19]
• "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe" bythe Byrds (1965)^[19]
• "Mystic Eyes" byThem (1965)^[9]
• "I Want Candy" bythe Strangeloves (1965)^[18][20][19]
• "Please Go Home" bythe Rolling Stones (1966)^[22][19]
• "Bummer in the Summer" byLove (1967)^[23]
• "Get Me to the World on Time" bythe Electric Prunes (1967)^[20]
• "She Has Funny Cars" byJefferson Airplane (1967)^[24]
• "Magic Bus" bythe Who (1968)^{[17][18][20][19]}
• "1969" bythe Stooges^[18][19]
• "Panic in Detroit" byDavid Bowie (1973)^[18][20][19]
• "Shame, Shame, Shame" byShirley & Company (1974)^[20]
• "Custard Pie" by Led Zeppelin (1975)^[25]
• "New York Groove" byHello (1975)^[26]
• "Billy Bones and the White Bird" byElton John (1975)^[27]
• "She's the One" byBruce Springsteen (1975)^{[17][18][20][19]}
• "Bad Blood" byNeil Sedaka (1975)^[19]
• "American Girl" byTom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1977)^[17]
• "Big Alice" byDon Pullen (1977)
• "Hateful" bythe Clash (1979)^[20]
• "Rudie Can't Fail" byThe Clash (1979)^[19][20]
• "(She's So) Selfish" bythe Knack (1979)^[28]
• "Lovers Walk" byElvis Costello and the Attractions (1980)^[29]
• "Cuban Slide" bythe Pretenders (1980)^[11]
• "What A Blow" byIan Gomm (1980)
• "Europa and the Pirate Twins" byThomas Dolby (1981)^[20]
• "Don't Let Him Go" byREO Speedwagon (1981)^[19]
• "Hare Krsna" byHüsker Dü (1984)^[30]
• "How Soon Is Now?" bythe Smiths (1985) (Diddley-styletremolo)^[18][31]
• "Mr. Brownstone" byGuns N' Roses (1987)^[18][19]
• "Faith" byGeorge Michael (1987)^[17][20][19]
• "Ruby Dear" byTalking Heads (1988)^[32]
• "Desire" byU2 (1988)^[18][20][19]
• "Movin' On Up" byPrimal Scream (1991)^[33]
• "Osez Joséphine" byAlain Bashung (1991)
• "Tribal Thunder" byDick Dale and the Del-Tones (1993)^[20]
• "No One to Run With" bythe Allman Brothers Band (1994)^[34]
• "Party at the Leper Colony" by"Weird Al" Yankovic (2003)^[35]
• "That Big 5-0" byStan Ridgway (2004)^[31]
• "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" byKT Tunstall (2005)^[19]
• "If It's Lovin' that You Want" byRihanna (2005)^[19]
• "At the Bottom of the Ocean" byEzra Furman (2013)^[36]
• "Water Fountain" byTune-Yards (2014)^[37]
• "Fool For Love" byLord Huron (2015)^[38]
• "Bluey Theme Tune" by Joff Bush (2018)^[39]

• Clave
• Shave and a Haircut

• Rhythm and meter
• Bo Diddley

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