![]() ![]() Part of the oversight may lie in the fact that the filmmakers focus on the more salacious aspects of the Chess story: The film shows Little Walter cozying up to Waters' wife and even shooting a singer who appropriated his name, just as it depicts James strung out on various substances and Chess himself reaching out to her in intimate ways. There's only one problem: Muddy Waters didn't write, sing or record "I'm a Man" as a solo artist - Bo Diddley did.Īnd while "Cadillac Records" admirably focuses attention on Chess and the seminal role it played in popularizing the blues and early rock 'n' roll (the film's title comes from the fact that Leonard Chess often gave his artists Cadillacs when they scored a hit), it completely and unconscionably ignores the contribution of one of its most original artists. The song is so intrinsic to the film (and of Chess Records itself) that one reviewer calls it the movie's "theme song." It also gave the world Bo Diddley - yes, our Bo Diddley - but you wouldn't know that by the film.Īs the movie's opening credits roll by, the actor who plays Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) is heard singing "I'm A Man," part of a big hit record released on Chess in 1955. The film "Cadillac Records," which opened Friday, recounts much of the story of Chess Records, the seminal and hugely important Chicago record label that gave the world Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry. "The Originator," as Diddley was called by some, has only been gone about six months now, but the half-year commemoration of his death in Archer on June 2 is now marked by an embarrassing - and shameful - slight of one of his best-known songs. ![]() Bo Diddley's long and storied career remains hugely influential, even as he became a victim of one of the worst traits of the music industry - failure to give credit where credit was due, and ultimately, the pay that went with it. ![]()
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