Remembering Bo Diddley

I first saw Bo Diddley at the Safari Motel in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was Spring Break of 1965 or 1966. Bo and his band set up on the second floor balcony and all of us middle-class white kids danced around the pool. As well as I can remember, Bo just did two songs– “Hey Bo Diddley” and “Say Man” — but he did them for hours.

I often wondered what he thought of us. I know what we thought of him — he was the coolest thing any of us had ever heard. When I got back to college, I bought every album I could get my hands on. To my surprise, the albums had the same spontaneity and humor as his live performance. I must confess that I’ve never listened to Bo Diddley on CD because I’m afraid that the warmth of his sound would be compromised.

But if you have a turntable (or even if you don’t), grab a handful of Bo Diddley records and have a party. Bo’s music lends itself to a party like none other, and from what I have read about Bo the man, he’d be overjoyed that you were partying to his music.

This entry was posted by Uncle Bill on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 pm