Memphis, TN--
In Memoriam
The One and Only Bo Diddley
December 30, 1928-June 2, 2008
He is a living legend, a music genius and one of the few American songwriters who has influenced generation after generation. With songs that have been covered by Elvis, U2, Bob Seger, Guns N’ Roses and many, many more, it is safe to say that Bo Diddley knows rock and roll. And at 79 years old, the guitarist, known as “The Originator” is showing no signs of ever slowing down.
Just do not ask him how he feels about his status as a living legend—it is a title that Diddley says “is weird. I ain’t no sex symbol. I just do what I know how to do and try to give people something for their money when I hit the stage.”
Diddley is a man who has not forgotten his Mississippi roots or his distinctly Southern hospitality and grace. He is not afraid to stop and help someone change a tire and he does not hesitate to do his best to “fix” anything he finds broken.
“I started [fixing things]—and this is the first time I have said this—when I was little in Mississippi. I went to visit my mom because she did not raise me,” says Diddley.
“She had a boyfriend and she fixed him some chicken and stuff and the guy had to get out of there before my step daddy got there. He had an old t-model car and he put it in gear and [it] would not move.
“The gear shift broke off down in the transmission. I took the top off with some pliers. I was a little kid, and looked in there at the gears. I took the screw driver and moved one and the things wouldn’t move that fast so we stopped and moved a gear this way and pushed another one and we got it in second gear. I saved that dude’s life. We got it in second gear and that guy left and I ain’t never seen him again,” says Diddley with a laugh.
From that day forward, Diddley has been fixing everything around him. One could say that Diddley fixed rock and roll as well as the blues because it was him who was able to transition between the two genres by combining rock’s heavy guitar riffs with the rhythm of the blues.
At 79 years old, it is safe to say that Bo Diddley knows a thing or two about his craft. He has been performing since the early 1950s and has watched patiently as the world of music has changed around him. Diddley thrived in the do-wop era, survived the disco of the seventies, and was even thriving as the 80’s hair bands did their thing. He even understood the grunge rock sound of the early 90’s. The one kind of music Diddley cannot seem to wrap his head around though is rap.
“I have no idea what the hell it is,” says Diddley. “They stumped me with the rap and it is not all bad. We need some morals back in our stuff and they guys that are going this, I think they are very good musicians but I think they should think about becoming role models.”
Of his own style, Diddley says that his style is writing songs with his name in them.
“Everybody has a style and that is my style. I am not going to change it for nobody. I like being Bo Diddley. In fact, I love me,” says Diddley.
The one thing Diddley often does change, however, is his shows. It is very likely that Diddley has never performed the same show twice because he always chooses the songs he is going to perform by feeling out the audience.
“When I am on [stage], anything is likely to come out of my mouth. I just feel the audience out as to what I do next. That is the way I have always been. I call it rolling with the punches.”
And rolling with the punches is just what Bo Diddley has been doing his whole life.
“When I was younger, I used to box a little bit around the neighborhood. When I found out a guy hit pretty hard, I knew how to stay away from him—just out where he could not get a good like. If I wanted him, I would take a lick to get to him and then I called it my time,” says Diddley.
With his firecracker personality and his drive to give everything his all, it is no wonder why Bo Diddley has been able to remain a driving force in an industry that sees so many one-hit wonders each year.
As far as hanging up his trademark square guitar any time soon. Well, Bo says that he will retire when Arthur get him.
“Do you know who Arthur is? He is arthritis. Arthur is mean. When he says stop, he means stop,” says Diddley with a little bit of a gleam in his eyes.
Until Arthur finds him though, you can bet that the one and only Bo Diddley will be doing what he does best—playing rock and roll the way it was meant to be done.
