I went to a concert here last night. The headlining act was Bo Diddley. Some friends of mine have a band, and were also playing. I got to go backstage with them. I was fortunate enough to meet Bo, his daughter Terry, and his graddaughter Terry Joy. Both are beautiful, talented ladies. They were in the show also. Terry Joy is only ten or eleven. She's a natural performer. The show was fantastic! Bo is a very old man, but is sharp as a tack. His playing skills are still great. He has a sound all his own. He's as witty as ever. He told jokes, and stories. He had a group of kids get on the stage and sing with him. I sensed no ego about him at all. He's a wonderful man, who loves life, and people. If you ever get the chance to see him; go! A true icon.
I saw him once at a local indoor car show,15-20 years ago.Maybe more. SMALL crowd,and he played his *** off for us. Great show. Has he still got the Turbo 5 Speed guitar ?
Did Bo have Jerome Greene with him? Jerome is Bo's long time maraca player. I hope he's still going too. Mike Harrison has a WONDERFUL song called "Pay Bo Diddly" about his early days in the record business. Worth checking out.
Bo played at the Calgary Stampede back in 1974, and I was in town playing in another band. When he was setting up in the afternoon, I crawled under the chain link fence and snuck past the guards and introduced myself to him, while the warm-up band did their sound check. (They were named Storm, and they did a great version of Aqualung.) We talked about what we hated about the music business and had some laughs. Bo was very down-to-earth - a genuinely nice guy.
Saw him back home in the UK about 10-12 years back...he was kinda 'held back' by the band playing long 'BB King' type blues stuff....but he threw most of them off the stage about halfway through the show & did 'Can't Judge a Book, Hey Bo Diddley & Bring it to Jerome' with minimal backing....that was worth the ticket price alone
I saw Bo at the old Keystone Berkeley around 1980. He was playing his trademark red, square guitar. As tough and rough as he seems onstage I was surprised to learn that he was a violin prodigy as a child. I'd like to see him again but I don't know if he comes west anymore.
Pretty well rounded guy. He was a boxer as a young man too. Does anyone know if Jerome is still kicking around? Maracas are a HUGE part of the Bo Diddly Beat.
Wow I missed it by a few years, huh? Sometimes I ain't as hip as I think I am. Chili Phil, truly humbled
Bo's daughter Terry was playing the maracas. Bo had his red square guitar. He would have played all night. The promoter finally came out and told him to stop. They had two more bands to go. Bo mentioned that he needs surgery for a hernia. I heard he's going to be playing in the area again this weekend.
I saw him at a club in Tampa clled the Blues Ship... they didn't have enough tables, so we sat on the floor... right in front of the 10" riser/stage... eventually got tired of keeping my head almost straight up and layed down with my feet against the riser. I was almost as sweaty as he was by the end of the show.
bo is also a car guy,he lives nearby and always has a yard full of cars. years ago when he did the niki shoes commercials on tv he took a ****load of nikis over to the local schools and gave them away..this is in a poor area and some of those kids had never had a pair of nikis! great guy!~ randy
for those non guitar players bo diddley invented what is known in music circles as the bo diddley rhythm.Songs like "not fade away", and hundreds of others feature it .He was also the pawn shop propriator in TradingPlaces w/ e murray and d ackroyd."this is a hand made swiss taguer watch it tells time in 4 time zones and waterproof to 100 fathoms.BO"in philadelphia its worth fifty bucks". great guy an a rock n roll original.Also the first roch act to feature females as membersof the band.mike
I got to see him here in Denver in March of 2003 at the Soiled Dove. It was a special show for Bo Diddley's 75th birthday. A friend of mine's band was backing Bo up that night, so we got tickets and had awesome seats. We were also able to get in for the pre-show party and got to talk to him and he graciously took pictures with us and gave a few autographs. When the show started, we were right in front. I must admit, there wasn't a bad seat in the house. He started playing at about 8:30 and the management made him stop playing at about 1:30. He just didn't want to stop playing! I would definitely see him again if he comes back to town. He is a very humble guy and has a great sense of humor. If you've never seen him live, you have to. His "Cigar Box" shakes you to your bones! It was one of the greatest evenings I've ever had! BO RULES! E
The Jalopy Journal
