October 12, 2021 Records of the Day

Dressed as a cowboy on the album cover, Bo Diddley’s 5TH  album was called “Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger.” The album not only includes the “Gunslinger” single but also “Sixteen Tons,” first made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bo Diddley was invited on the Ed Sullivan Show to sing “Sixteen Tons,” but he surprised Sullivan on the live Sunday night broadcast by singing “Bo Diddley” instead. Sullivan was not amused. The “Gunslinger” single can sell for $25.00 today but the “Gunslinger” album, released on Checker Records in 1961, is worth up to $200.00 today.

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