Black Gladiator

Song of the Day:

Bo Diddley – Elephant Man

You may have noticed, Dear Imaginary Readers, that this has been sort of a Comeback week here at Infinite Jones.  We have been featuring artists from the early days of Rock and Roll who attempted to revive their careers or update their sound in order to stay current.  Usually this did not work with the artist being unable to break out of their niche and thus being consigned to the oldies circuit for the rest of their lives.  But, we think that the attempts were laudable and the experiments were sometimes fascinating, even if not wholly successful.  Which brings us to today’s Comeback Kid, Bo Diddley.  Bo’s 1970 album Black Gladiator was another attempt by Chess , Bo’s record label, to Electrify and Psychedelicize their artist roster.  As with similar attempts with Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, it was a commercial flop, critically panned and, artistically inconsistent at best.  That is not to say that some of the record is not a Rockin’ Good Time, after all, Bo was BO.  As evidence, we present our favorite cut from the album, Elephant Man, which is wild and raw and funky and fun, like Bo himself!  Dig it, y’all!