Road Runner, the second volume of Hip-O Select's ongoing chronicle of Bo Diddley's complete Chess/Checker master recordings, covers roughly one calendar year whereas its predecessor, I'm a Man, spanned four -- a good indication that 1959 was an eventful year for Bo. During this one year, he had his biggest pop hit in the jive-talking "Say Man" and had another sizable R&B hit with "Crackin' Up," but both these sides were cut in 1958 and released as a single in 1959. As they climbed the charts, Diddley was frenetically recording, spinning off his "Bo Diddley" into "Nursery Rhyme aka Puttentang" while mythologizing himself yet again in "The Story of Bo Diddley," attempting to steal back his signature beat from Johnny Otis' "Willie & the Hand Jive" with "Willie Fell in Love," slamming out a sequel to "Say Man," trying to catch the Caribbean winds that were blowing in, hauling out his violin, pushing his amp on instrumentals -- basically doing anything that popped into his head. So many ideas were spilling out of his head that perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that by the time 1959 was coming to a close, Bo set up his own studio in his house, then delivered finished tapes to Chess -- a practice completely unheard of that year!
CD1 (01:13:46)
1. Mama Mia (03:00)
2. Bucket (Take 1) (02:54)
3. Bucket (Take 5) (03:15)
4. What Do You Know About Love (03:15)
5. Lazy Woman (Alternate Take-1) (02:53)
6. Lazy Woman (Take 3) (02:53)
7. Come On Baby (Take 2) (00:54)
8. Come On Baby (Instrumental Run-Through Take 3) (01:14)
9. Come On Baby (Take 4) (02:01)
10. Nursery Rhyme A/K/A Puttentang (02:48)
11. Mumblin' Guitar (02:51)
12. James' Instrumental (03:23)
13. Silly Willy (02:34)
14. I Love You A/K/A The Beat (02:24)
15. Story Of Bo Diddley A/K/A My Story (02:53)
16. She's Alright (Unedited Version) (04:23)
17. She's Alright (Alternate Take) (02:41)
18. She's Alright (Mindy Lou) (Alternate Take) (04:26)
19. She's Alright (04:04)
20. Darling Tell Me (02:39)
21. Limbo A/K/A Limber (Alternate Take) (02:49)
22. Limbo A/K/A Limber (02:43)
23. Gonna Tell It Like It Is (02:22)
24. Say Man, Back Again (Alternate Take) (03:28)
25. Say Man, Back Again (03:08)
26. Jungle (01:51)
CD2 (01:16:36)
1. Walking (Take 2) (03:11)
2. Walking (Take 4) (02:53)
3. To Each His Own (02:29)
4. Run Diddley Daddy (02:41)
5. Unknown Title Issued As Run Diddley Daddy (01:57)
6. Road Runner (Alternate Take) (02:19)
7. Road Runner (02:47)
8. Spend My Life With You (02:52)
9. Love You Baby (02:28)
10. Diddling A/K/A Tash (02:13)
11. Cadillac (02:46)
12. Limbo (02:41)
13. Willie Fell In Love (Version 1) (06:13)
14. Willie Fell In Love (Version 2 (Take 10)) (02:41)
15. Look At My Baby (02:36)
16. Better Watch Yourself (02:56)
17. Prisoner Of Love (Fast Version) (02:32)
18. Prisoner Of Love (Slow Version) (03:47)
19. You Know I Love You So (02:36)
20. Let Me In (Alternate Version 1) (04:09)
21. Let Me In (Alternate Version 2) (02:18)
22. Let Me In (02:05)
23. Signifying Blues (Unedited) (05:05)
24. Signifying Blues (02:39)
25. Deed & Deed I Do (Alternate Take) (03:22)
26. Deed & Deed I Do (02:20)
