Clifton James

One of a half-dozen essential drummers from the Chicago scene, Clifton James was closely associated with the mighty guitar slinger Bo Diddley for 16 years. This places James front and center at the creation of one of the most important beats in rock music, known as the "Bo Diddley beat" -- as if there was anything else it could be called. Actually, there might just be some other things that this beat might be called, as it is traceable back to ceremonial drummers of the African nation of Burundi, as well as forward into the avant-garde rock of Captain Beefheart, who often cred...