Bo Diddley

One of my most distinct memories of my introduction to music was the first time I heard Bo Diddley in the middle 1950s. I was eleven or 12 and I first head "I'm a man." Diddley, at that time recorded for Chess and Checker. He was born in Mississippi but made his career in Chicago. Bo Diddley died today after suffering a stroke in 2007

There were a lot of things that were unique about him. First and foremost was he was the first musician that I remember who who used his name in a lot of his songs. Second, was his unrelenting beat. He was one of the definers of rock and roll guitar. Of course he influenced a couple of generations of musicians.

My wife and I saw him in concert twice. First, in Washington DC in a Rock and Roll revival show. But where he really showed himself was in a concert about 25 years ago in Sacramento, where he was the attraction. He came on stage and brought down the house for about an hour and a half. He took a short break and then did a second act of about the same length.