4 Songs You Didn’t Know Bo Diddley Wrote for Other Artists

To assign a number to Bo Diddley would be impossible. The guitar great’s influence on rock and roll, blues, and R&B is immeasurable and can still be pinpointed in some of today’s biggest hits. His innovative sound, something that would be later coined the “Bo Diddley beat,” continues to shape modern music and inspire the masses.

During his career, he shared his musical know-how, loaning out his skills to fellow bluesmen like Little Walter and Muddy Water. He even had a hand in crafting one of the most enduring tunes to come out of the 1950s, Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love is Strange.” Below are 4 songs Bo Diddley wrote for other artists.

1. “Roller Coaster” – Little Walter and His Jukes (1955)

Written by Bo Diddley 

Bo Diddley’s songs for others were often credited to Ellas McDaniel, the guitarist’s legal name, and Little Walter’s 1955 tune “Roller Coaster” was no different. Performed with His Jukes, the rollicking Diddley-penned instrumental echoes his classic trance-inducing style.

2. “Mannish Boy” – Muddy Waters (1955)

Written by Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and Mel London

Now when I was a young boy / At the age of five / My mother said I was gonna be / The greatest man alive / But now I’m a man / I’m past twenty-one / I want you to believe me baby / I had lot’s of fun, blues legend Muddy Water bellows in his classic “Mannish Boy.”

Again credited to Ellas McDaniel, Bo Diddley, in collaboration with Mel London and Waters himself, helped to craft the 1955 swaggering hit that would quickly become a blues standard.

3. “Dearest” – Mickey & Sylvia (1955)

Written by Bo Diddley, Samuel Gibson, and Prentice Herman Polk Jr.

Dearest / Though you’re the nearest to my heart / Please don’t ever / Ever say we’ll part, the R&B duo Mickey & Sylvia harmonize in their lovable 1955 tune “Dearest.”

Written by Bo Diddley, Samuel Gibson, and Prentice Herman Polk Jr., “Dearest” was one of two Diddley-penned hits for the duo. The iconic “Love is Strange” was the second.

4. “Love is Strange” – Mickey & Sylvia (1956)

Written by Bo Diddley (as Ethel Smith)

Love, love is strange / Lot of people take it for a game / Once you get it, you never wanna quit / After you’ve had it, you’re in an awful fix, the duo sings ahead of the classic call-and-response in “Love is Strange.”

For some reason “Love is Strange” is credited to Diddley under the name Ethel Smith, Diddley’s then-wife. While Diddley was the first to record the song, Mickey & Sylvia were the first to release it in late 1956. The song would go on to be covered by everyone from Buddy Holly to Wings and would even appear in the 1987 movie, Dirty Dancing.

Photo by Bob King/Redferns