June 2, 2008

Bo Diddley - A Legend Passes On


I was very sad to just hear that Bo Diddley has died of heart failure, he was 79.

His influence reaches far and wide in the world of rock music. Its said that he was one of the people that transformed Blues into Rock and Roll. He was known for playing a rectangular guitar, which is just downright cool if you ask me.

His first single, "Bo Diddley," introduced record buyers in 1955 to his signature rhythm: bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, often summarized as "shave and a haircut, two bits." The B side, "I'm a Man," with its slightly humorous take on macho pride, also became a rock standard.

He will be greatly missed and always remembered.

5 comments:

Malcolm said...

I read about Bo's death during lunch and wrote a post as well. Even though I knew he had been sick for awhile, it was still a bit of a shock to me.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

Very sad... I plan on doing a tribute tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

God bless. he is one of my favorites. about "The One I Missed...." post, you are so lucky to see these great bands. cause of our god damn government we didn`t see any bands in Iran. so you are so lucky. one of my wishes is be in a concert with Ritchie Blackmore.

Bar L. said...

Malcolm, Friday night I saw him in a cameo appearance on "Bad to the Bone" video by George T. Do you remember that? Apparently George is one of many influenced by his style.

Bond, I look forward to reading it.

Yashar, thanks for your comment. Its sad that you haven't had the opportunities to see some of the greats. I am super lucky and don't take it for granted that the timing of my age, my location and finances allowed me to see some of these groups. I wish you could see Ritchie.

JohnnyG said...

I had the pleasure of seeing Bo Diddley at Asheville's Bele Chere festival a few years back. Even then he played the entire concert sitting in a chair and I wondered how much longer would have him.

Its tragic but inevitable to lose the masters responsible for keeping the blues alive and relevant to today's generations. Without greats like Bo Diddley you would have no John Mayers to pick up where they take their leave.

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