you can't judge a book by lookin' at the cover." -ellas mcdaniel, aka bo diddley. he passed away today, age 79. what a loss for everyone! i only got to see him once, long ago down in smellay, w/little richard & jerry lee lewis. tho i was bombed out of my gourd, i remember his set smoked!!! we tried to see him at rockin' 50s last yr in green bay, but he got sick & didn't make it to the event. everyone thought he was a goner then, & the mood was heavy as the 100s of primitive/american music vinyl freaks in attendance held their breath somberly, hoping against hope for the improved health of the "original architect of rock&roll". we heard he was playing music at the hospital w/in days...you gotta love anyone who takes his stage name from a phrase that basically is a classier version of "jack s**t." i like the humility. people who are great don't need to hoot about it. his rockin' clave-rumba songs were so fun, so cool, so smoking & sexy & rhythm-bound, & then when you listened to the lyrics, wow: poetry, too. he introduced the world to the duchess, jerome green, the hambone beat, "love is strange". he was one of the BIG FIVE, art fein says, along w/chuck, fats, elvis, little richard, jerry lee. (wait - that makes six. i must be wrong...)
some of my favorite bo diddley songs: roadrunner; you can't judge a book; mona; cadillac; bring it to jerome; pills; ride on josephine; say man; hey! bo diddley; dearest darling; we're gonna get married; who do you love?; pretty thing; crackin' up; hush your mouth; don't let it go; what's buggin' you?; gunslinger... i've been sick today, & it seems fitting now. goodbye to a great man.
