The Best Gigs Ever Part 5
Bo Diddley
I was twice within shouting distance of Little Richard having a conversation with someone I was with. I never would have the nerve to approach the very private and edgy Chuck Berry. While the two of them are parts of the godhead of rock I want it to be clear that although to some extent they did cut their own paths, nobody comes closer to the title Originator of rock and roll than the Diddley Diddley Daddy. Richard was about outrageous and in your face while Chuck was about laidback cool sass both with rocking beats. From the beginning Bo’s public stance was somewhere between the jungle and way out there somewhere in thecountry. 
Ed Sullivan’s most miserable moment was his treatment of Bo and one of Bo’s triumphs is that he played his song his way and took all the beating that came with it gracefully knowing he was right. Nobody could make an audience rock harder than Bo.
Across all those decades girls were dancing to the Diddley sound many times having no idea who it was. During my tenure in Kaleidoscope we witnessed a few Diddley sets and liked them immensely; as a result we hired him to open a few gigs for us at believe me, bargain prices for what we got- probably the best opening act anyone could get . People danced every time. People who thought they were too sophisticated for this stuff were moving their feet unexplainedly. It really was Tribal Stomp stuff. And Bo himself, probably the sweetest living legend that will ever speak to me, gracious and slightly self-effacing while accepting his role as the Originator with pride. He shyly asked me to borrow my violin for a set and proceeded to play a Gatemouth Brown style blues to everyone’s disbelief. Since those times of course a thousand bar bands have marched into the sea shouting “Who Do You Love?” but never with the power or style he achieved. I have many favorites but still go nuts when I hear “Roadrunner” (“I’m gonna put some dirt in your eye”),”What’s Buggin’ You?”, “Can’t Judge a Book” , “Bring It to Jerome” (which I dare anyone else to do a decent version of), and all three of the “Say Man” sides which should be viewed as poetry and rap. He was an original in so many different categories and probably will never receive all the credit he deserves in the genres and sub genres he helped create beyond the guitar riff that now bears his name. But bless you Bo, my very pregnant wife and I wiggled around to your music at San Marino High School in 1970 and it was a truly sweet moment in time. May your soul Rock On!