Bo Diddley was right when he told the
New York Times in 2003, “I opened the door for a lot of people, and they just ran through and left me holding the knob.” It must have been terrible to watch so many other musicians take your signature beat and make millions off of it. Yes, musicians credited him as one of the greats, but being admired by a bunch of white guys didn't pay the rent.
And now he's gone, but like Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-Tale Heart, his beat is forever:
...covers like this one from 1980 from John Cipollina, late of Quicksilver Messenger Service (the acid-laced original can be heard
here):
...and the original (and still the best):
Rest in peace, big guy. You may think everyone forgot. But we didn't.
Labels: music
bo diddley got the lick from the "hambone" singers on the streets of the south. pine top and son house recorded it. it stayed because it's so infectious.