The Death of Diddley
By now, every rocker around the Queen City (and beyond) has heard the sad news:
Bo Diddley is dead.
The amazing guitarist/singer, whose “cigar-box” guitar and African-based 5/4 rhythm pattern influenced generations of musicians (just an example: Johnny Otis’ Willie and the Hand Jive), died of heart failure at home in Archer, Florida. He was 79.
It’s ironic that the first time I ever heard of him was in an old record that my sister had back as a kid in Pineville. It was by country satirist Ray Stevens and called Santa Claus Is Watching You. Then, I heard the man and was immediately captivated by his simple, bluesy voice surrounded by a thumping beat.
At first, some thought he was just a “one-hit-wonder”, using a gimmick to cross racial barriers. But when acts like Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, The Seeds (Get Me To The World On Time), The Strangeloves (I Want Candy) and, later, George Thorogood and The Destroyers and even KISS began emulating the wild beat (someone said it was “shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits” played on mount and floor tom a bit faster), we all realized the worth of this giant!
Recently, someone said if ya didn’t like rock-n-roll, ya didn’t know Diddley! How true that play-on-words is today!
The legend will be missed … but, believe me: His music WILL live on!!
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