Say Man
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| "Say Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bo Diddley | ||||
| B-side | "The Clock Strikes Twelve" | |||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | 1958 | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues | |||
| Length | 3:09 | |||
| Label | Checker 931 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ellas McDaniel | |||
| Bo Diddley singles chronology | ||||
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"Say Man" is a song by American musician Bo Diddley. Written under his real name of Ellas McDaniel, it was recorded by Bo Diddley in 1958 and released as a single in 1959 on Checker 931.
The recording became his biggest US pop hit, reaching number 20 on the Hot 100,[1] and number three on the R&B chart.[2] It arose from a jam session between Diddley and his maracas player Jerome Green, and featured Diddley and Green trading insults in the style of the word game known as The Dozens.[3]
Bo Diddley said of the song: "A lot of the things I did in the Chess studios, we were just goofin' around ... They played it back, and it shocked all of us! Of course, they cut out all the dirty parts."[4] Music critic Maury Dean, while rejecting the idea that the track is "the first rap song", says that it is "the first major soul tune to feature a total spoken patter of pal put-downs to a rockin' beat ... . Bo's lightning right hand chops chords like sugar cane. The incessant beat throbs into the hot American evening nocturne of streetwise savvy. Rap – with a side of ghetto-blast humor."[5]
The recording also appeared on the album Go Bo Diddley.[3]
