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Bo Diddley dies aged 79

Guitar legend passes away from heart failure

Mon 02 Jun, 2008

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Bo Diddley, like all great rock and roll legends, did not set out to be famous; unlike too many wannabes of today in an ill-fated American Idol period, Bo, an incredible musician and vocalist with an fantastic, no frills, 'let's get right down to business' stage show, just made great records. The legendary Chess Records of Chicago knew this; label heads Leonard & Phil Chess captured Bo at what he did best, singing and playing his heart out. Bo's early recordings for Chess Records on the Checker label had a distinctive sound, complimented by the musician's unique playing style that simply could not be duplicated. You did not have to know the name of the song in order to tell that was THE Bo Diddley playing on the record---whether it be his, on the instrumental guitar battle duet lp with label mate Chuck Berry (Checker), or even the wonderful Latin-tinged, sweet guitar picking on the extremely rare 78 rpm "Billy's Blues--Part One" (Argo) credited to another label mate, the immortal Billy Stewart---all of it was just Bo, just pure talent. As the music styles of the 50's changed, so did Bo's musicianship, which had never stopped growing. The 60's found Bo still rocking but able to incorporate some R & B: check out his "Oh Baby (I Love You)" where he is joined with then future pop star, Minnie Riperton on background vocals. It is common folklore of how Bo Diddley influenced many guitar players, especially those coming from the British Invasion, which would all but kill classic artists of Bo's era from TV, radio and records but, nonetheless, Bo pressed---and played---on, for decades, right up to the very end, Bo gave his audience everything he had in performance. Bo, as I gently lower the tone arm down right now on one of your great 78s, I know only your physical body left this plane. You will live on forever----in our hearts. Play a little loud at that heavenly Bo Diddley concert so I can hear a little of it down here. My deepest love goes out to the Bo Diddley family---Mark Matlock/Andromeda International Records androintl@earthlink.net

Mon 02 Jun, 2008

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