Ask anyone under a certain age as to whom Bo Diddley was, and you will get a blank stare. But for the generation that grew up listening to the likes of the Rolling Stones – heavily influenced by Bo, as well as Chuck Berry – they will definitely know. As an early 40-something, I grew up in a very different era but I also had heard of the guy and was encouraged to listen to a few of his tunes by an old friend. He’s great. I particularly like the tune, “Roadrunner” – ideal fodder for the car stereo, blasting at full volume while you are driving a convertible with the hood down and driving fast.
Sadly, the maestro died a few days ago. Those hipsters at the Reason Hit & Run blog have put up a nice set of links to music of the master. He will be greatly missed.
Here’s an album of some of his greatest hits.
driving a convertible with the hood down and driving fast
Shame on you for daring to suggest that a) driving might actually be fun; b) driving fast, not in an ecologically sound manner; and c) with your hood down, further impeding your car’s fuel efficiency.
You’re killing your children, you Fritzl, you!
Obnoxio: indeed! I could make their blood pressure get even worse by driving along in an E-Type Jag, Corvette or classic-era Ferrari (250 GTO, etc).
Diddley was a huge, huge influence, and will be a massive miss.
Just ask George Thorogood, “Who do ya Love?”
I always loved the Dead covering Not Fade Away. Only they could take a two minute track and spin it out to fifteen or twenty minutes.
You can find the Bo Diddley beat on Appetite for Destruction as well on Mr. Brownstone.
I grew up in North Dakota, 13 years of age as Elvis Presley became famous. There was no black music in N Dakota back then, not so much because of racism as because not many knew anything about it. Over the next few years, as rock n roll seeped into the Swedish/Norwegian culture of the area, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, The Coasters, et al fed a hunger we kids didn’t know we had. Diddley is missed.