Hey Bo Diddley - RIP

Bo Diddley, one of the greats of early rock (and former deputy sheriff of Los Lunas, New Mexico), is dead at 79. As great as Chuck Berry is, of all the early rock'n'rollers, Diddley is my personal favorite.

Bo's work and legacy, like too many other early African-American rockers, was lost in the Elvis-mythmaking of the 1950s period, and it's a shame that he's really forgotten by younger generations. Unfortunately, my generation at best remembers him by and large for being the old guy on those Nike commercials with Bo Jackson, in which different people said “Bo knows X”, and Diddley said, “Bo don’t know Diddley,” which is a true shame, given his legacy. However, it didn't seem to bother him so much, and he always seemed to be in good spirits. I saw him live in the mid-90s at a free show in Cuyahoga Falls - there were maybe 100 people there, but Diddley put on an amazing show, full of energy and joy. He ended up rocking for two and a half hours, playing classic tunes of his, playing blues medleys, and even doing a freestyle rap about the importance of staying in school to some kids in the audience. It was probably one of the three best shows that I've ever seen. That percussive style of playing that he came up with is so influential on the music landscape that it is impossible to cite just a few examples; likewise, it is impossible to overstate Diddley's importance to music today. He will be missed, and hopefully now, he'll get some of the tributes that eluded him for so long.