Biography
From the middle of the 1950s onward, Jerome Green remained a consistent presence on the Chess Records roster, most prominently supplying maracas to Bo Diddley’s sessions while also appearing on releases by Chuck Berry, Billy Boy Arnold, Billy Stewart, and Willie Dixon. Some accounts describe him as a tuba player drawn more to jazz, yet when he and Bo Diddley formed their initial ensemble, the Langley Avenue Jive Cats, at the beginning of the 1950s, he moved to percussion. Reluctant to transport a full drum set to gigs, he selected maracas instead and cultivated a sharp, immediately recognizable tone on the instrument. His contributions to Bo Diddley’s catalog encompassed a joint vocal turn on the artist’s highest-charting pop release, “Say Man,” along with regular appearances in the touring band. Green’s profile was prominent enough to be referenced in the storyline of the Animals’ single “The Story of Bo Diddley.” His partnership with Bo Diddley concluded in 1964 after Green married and chose to leave the road; he died sometime around 1973.
Singles