I heard it on NPR,nice piece on a long drive home, and had to pull over, so sad to hear it. Damn, that man, he really helped to shake up the world.From the NPR piece, Peter Guralnick:
He did that, used beat over rhythm, which was an immense step in what we now see as usual rock & roll… And, I’ll say, did it as a hip guy with glasses, not the norm of hipness then.
I’ve seen the elder Bo Diddley several times. During the 80’s-90’s, he would just come with his guitar to smaller clubs, and request a call out for good musicians who wanted to play the gig. Of course, there were plenty who wanted to, but the club owners would get the best local musicians. It was amazing to see Bo just whip them into shape, and test their chops. He was a master bandleader, and that touring tactic was born out of cutting costs, but it showed how he could make any group fly, and most knew his music by heart.
My personal favorite memory was at the Cat’s Cradle club here in Chapel Hill, in the 80’s. After the show, there was a long line of fans, all guys, and me. Bo looked out from the dressing room, and said “Let that gal come on in…” So, I did, young and thrilled. The dressing room door closed, and Bo said, “Man, I just need a little break from all those guys. You wanna sit and talk?” So, we did, chit chat from twenty sumthin’ Wowed me, but no Hey Baby stuff from him at all. We talked about music then, after awhile, he said "Well, time to give those boys their time, now."He gave me a bottle of Grand Marnier, signed it (still have it), and a sweet kiss on the cheek.
Ogre, I’ve seen him many times since, and wouldn’t say at all that he was mean. He was astute and very intense, and saw the recording industry pass by the innovators like him, and, not pay at all what that music was worth, in the larger scope of what became popular. His skepticism of the system was well earned.
