Bo Diddley

Now, here's the story behind this clip. Bo was supposed to do the Tennessee Ernie Ford song "Sixteen Tons." However, he really wanted to perform his own signature song "Bo Diddley." So, instead of arguing with Ed Sullivan, they just went ahead and opened up with the drums, "bum bum bum bum-bum, bum bum," and did what they did best. If you notice, Jerome Green on the maracas keeps glancing stage right. That's because Mr Sullivan was standing there glaring at them. After the performance, Ed Sullivan told Bo that no "colored boy" had ever screwed him over like that, and that Bo would never appear on the Ed Sullivan Show again. - Uri DeYoung