Bo: Slings, Arrows and Outrageous Fortune : Pop music: In spite of all his influence and fame, rock legend Diddley still has a thing or two to get off his chest.

“We were playing the Club Au Go Go in Newcastle, our hometown . . . the doors opened one night, and to our surprise, in walked the man himself--Bo Diddley. . . . We were doing THIS song . . . Bo Diddley looked over at me, and he said, ‘Man . . .’ took off his glasses, he said, ‘Man . . . that sho’ is the biggest load of rubbish I ever heard in my life!’ ”

--from “The Story of Bo Diddley,” by the Animals, 1965

“The Story of Bo Diddley” was a loving tribute tune to a man who, even 30 years ago, was already considered a legend, a bona fide giant, a first-string originator of rock ‘n’ roll. He was held in such high esteem by young rock musicians that even a personal insult from his mouth was received with bemused affection.

In 1994, Diddley remains full of opinions, determined to stick to his own agenda.

During a recent phone interview from his home in central Florida, the affable, talkative Diddley, who performs Sunday at the Coach House, pontificated on O.J. Simpson (not guilty), gangsta rap and juvenile delinquency (sure signs of a society in decline), President Clinton (a kind and decent man)--just about any subject but the early days of rock ‘n’ roll.

Eventually he would come around, but not without much coaxing, and he never spoke of his career with the same relish he reserved for More Pressing Issues.

One could hardly blame him--at age 65, with more than 40 years in the music business behind him, Diddley is impatient with what he obviously sees as repetitive, insipid inquiries posed by dorky rock journalists. But Diddley does have a way of charming even as he blusters.

Born Otha Ellas Bates but given the surname McDaniel when he was adopted by a cousin, Diddley grew up in rural Mississippi and moved to Chicago at age 8. He became a regular on the club scene while still a teen-ager, taking his stage handle from a nickname given him while a Golden Gloves boxer.

Diddley’s idiosyncratic, signature sound was based on the use of a cranked-up tremolo unit on his guitar amp and a groove that many have theorized was adapted from an old-time hambone beat. Just don’t pose that theory to his face.

“I created that sound back in 1948,” said Diddley, clearly irritated. “Everybody keeps talking about how it came from hambone, but hambone is nothing like what I’m doing. Bom-chi-chank-chi-chank-CHANK CHANK! That’s the Bo Diddley beat. It’s not the same thing, and I’m sick and tired of everybody trying to connect me with hambone.”

Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson were among the kings of the Chicago scene in the ‘50s, all transplanted Southern bluesmen who recorded for the storied Chess label.

When Diddley was signed by Chess in 1955, he found it difficult to penetrate the inner circle of his label mates, who initially failed to appreciate the newfangled sound he was putting down.

“They all ended up buddies of mine, but it was hard to break through the ice,” Diddley said. “They didn’t want nothing to do with me. I came up with a different beat, and they were all blues. I changed the beat of the music. Everybody looked at me like I was 10 years ahead of my time.”

But Diddley was doing something right--he was getting through to the new generation of rock ‘n’ rollers, singing the blues in a language they understood. So many of his songs became instant classics that it’s difficult to imagine what rock ‘n’ roll would have been like without his contributions. Among them: “Bo Diddley,” “Diddley Daddy,” “Mona,” “I’m a Man,” “Who Do You Love,” “Diddy Wah Diddy,” “Road Runner” and “You Don’t Love Me.”

His compositions have been recorded by many major and minor artists with an affinity for rock ‘n’ roll.

Many others simply appropriated his sound to their own ends, enjoying hits with obvious knockoffs. A 1992 compilation on Rhino Records called “Bo Diddley Beats” collected many of these “tributes,” the lineup featuring artists as disparate as Buddy Holly, Gene Krupa, Smokey Robinson, Ben E. King, Johnny Otis, the Strangeloves and Donovan.

Diddley was elected to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, at its second annual dinner. But for all his contributions, influence and fame, Diddley claims that, like so many of rock’s first generation, he hasn’t been fairly compensated for his years of hard work.

He recently sued the estate of his late former manager of 22 years, Marty Otelsberg, and last month won a $400,000 judgment that the court said Otelsberg’s widow must pay.

“Marty and I had a damned good relationship--at least I thought it was good until I found out he was doing some funny things through some CPAs,” Diddley said. “He hurt me, man, by penny-pinching on me. I trusted him with my life. He was a good manager; he helped me with a lot of things, got me into a lot of places. In spite of everything that went down, I thought Marty was great. When he died, I felt like I lost a part of me. But I don’t like what he did to me. He abused his position.

“Chess got me, too. . . . Not MCA (which bought the rights to the Chess catalogue some years ago). MCA has nothing to do with all this crap that went down prior to them. They’ve been paying me. I’m talking about the stuff from Day One--from 1955 up until the time MCA bought them.

“I’m tired. . . . I hear me all the time (on the radio), and I haven’t got a dime to show for it. I wish the government would go in and have a look at what happens to recording artists, because a lot of funky stuff is going down,” he said.

“And it’s not only black artists--my white brothers are getting (cheated) the same doggone way. I don’t want somebody else’s money; I just want what’s mine. This is America, and I love my country. In America, you got a chance to become somebody. I made something of myself. So why’s there all these thugs sitting around and stealing money from me?”

*

Diddley has no problem with his current recording company, Triple XXX Records, a small independent label based in Los Angeles. He’s recorded three albums for Triple XXX since 1991 and has nothing but kind words for the company, which will release his next recording, “Promises,” in September.

Diddley said the album will contain positive, anti-drug and anti-violence messages for today’s youth. But he quickly turned the subject around to vent another of his pet peeves.

When he lobbies against violence, he stops short of suggesting that parents should always spare the rod with their own children.

Today, said Diddley, the father of five, “if you smack your kid, you go to jail for being abusive,” referring to a recent case in which a woman in Georgia was arrested after slapping her son.

“I don’t know who in hell is doing this--it must be them hippie dudes from the hippie generation that’s making the laws now. Whatever lawyer is making these laws while I’m asleep hasn’t been met in the street with these young thugs--9, 10 years old and carrying Uzis.

“I figure the old way was OK. I turned out fine by getting my (butt) kicked about things I did that I shouldn’t have. What is this country coming to?”

* Bo Diddley and the Carl Verheyen Band perform Sunday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $16.50. (714) 496-8930.