Bo Diddley

One of rock’s true greats has passed. For those of you who came in late, Bo Never filled stadiums, that wasn’t his job. Instead he inspired virtually all the stadium fillers! Being a repressed drummer, he invented his own rhythmic guitar style, loosely based on the ham bone military sqwuark that soldiers march to. This in essence doesn’t sound like much but that beat became the foundation of early rock and roll that inspired the likes of the Rolling Stones. Together with John Lee Hooker and Chuck Berry, you have the fore fathers of rock and roll.

Although he died at a right old age of 79, he still seemed in his prime. In the last few years, he’d toured Australia and been on breakfast radio with JJJ’s J and the Doctor. It was amazing to hear one of rock’s greats, larking about talking about how his rectangle shaped guitar came from an experience where he knackered himself on stage once, jumping around with his standard Gibson! If it seems a bit unlikely, watch this video of Bo Diddley in action. In the same interview, he asked for radio station t-shirts to give to his grand kids at home. What a top bloke!

For all his years, he was still touring around the world, perhaps not by choice. Like many rock players of the time, he never got the publishing rights to his tunes that would’ve made him a millionaire many times over. Nevertheless he was every bit the vital performer for his age. I for one would love to have that energy in my seventies. And that alone deserves huge amounts of respect.

On top of all that, Bo was a true nice gent and never undermined his character or work. He wasn’t known to swear or carry on about drugs, booze and loose women (at least in his later years). He just wrote fantastic riffs that could even be danced to. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Rolling Stones. They owe a huge debt of gratitude to Bo for their sound - as do many legendary rockers.

So with heavy hearts we say goodbye to yet another rock legend. R.I.P. Bo Diddley.

P.S. Is anyone able to confirm whether Bo made a cameo appearance as the pawn shop owner in the Eddie Murphy movie Trading Places of the 80s? I’m sure that was Bo Diddley!