Hoodoo You Love-Diddley, The Hawk and “Who Do You Love”

The great Bo Diddley wrote the now legendary “Who Do You Love,” though Bo’s original didn’t have much success, never charting. While widely known as a Bo Diddley song, it is not set to the Bo Diddley Beat. Most covers have incorporated it though. George Thorogood’s famous version didn’t chart either, but it is a mainstay of Classic Rock radio. George worked tirelessly to bring attention to Bo, arranging guest appearances and including him in the video for “Bad to the Bone.” The Hawk, Ronnie Hawkins, born on this day in 1935 in Arkansas, was among the first to cover “Who Do You Love.” Initially in his live shows as early as the late 50’s, and officially in 1963 on Roulette Records. Ronnie had some great rockabilly singles and was an exciting performer, doing the Moonwalk decades before Michael Jackson did. If for no other reason, Ronnie gets undisputed credit for creating The Hawks, later The Band, building the group around his drummer, Levon Helm. As time went on, Ronnie’s live versions of “Who Do You Love” would stretch to 7 or 8 minute jams. In his adopted Canada, he would become a National Treasure. He even had a short appearance in Beatles history, when John & Yoko stayed for a few days in a cottage on Ronnie’s Farm in Ontario. They were on a peace mission to meet Prime Minister Trudeau in March 1969. The Hawk had barely, if ever, listened to The Beatles, but Lennon knew many of Ronnie’s singles. Days before they arrived, Yoko had ordered sixteen additional phone lines to be installed on the property, eventually sticking Ronnie with a $9,000 phone bill, and departing without taking their belongings. But back to the song: Ronnie recognized the potential power of adding “Who Do You Love” to his live show. The “Who Do” is a homonym for Hoodoo, adapted by Bo after hearing school children in Kansas taunting one another in what sounded to him like an African chant. Many early Blues musicians used the Hoodoo culture for songwriting ideas, though most didn’t really believe in the practices. The song has been recorded many, many times since 1956, including versions by Rush, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Doors, The Blues Project, and a great take by Cub Koda’s Brownsville Station. We’ll let Bo’s & Ronnie’s versions take it from here, along with a link below for today’s Hoodoo playlist…

Bo with The Stones in 1994:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1QQnwhXtjM