Bo Diddley 2 years gone from this earth today

Upon realizing that it was June 2nd, 2 years from Bo Diddley's passing, I scribbled this picture and hopped in my car, making my way towards McComb Mississippi and in two hours (blasting nothing but Bo) I showed up at this post; nobody was there and as far as I know the placement of this marker is arbitrary outside the fact that it's in McComb. But I wanted to pay my respects SOMEWHERE.

And when it was all done I remembered that I had this blog thing (I know, you thought I'd forgotten, right?). I don't think Bo is necessarily the best in rock & roll: but he's one of them and he's my favorite. Why?

• First and foremost, he taught me to do what you love and do it like you love it. He never said as much as far as I can tell, but it's what I draw from his songs and the way he delivers them. Have Guitar Will Travel I think is the best case in point, with his guitar screaming with the same amount of passion that he does throughout. He's always sincere, partially because he's not writing about anything too complex that he can't believe it or stand by it. Simple messages the he (and I, I guess) can get behind.
• Perhaps as a result of bulletpoint 1: he's completely original. Yeah yeah, "the originator" and inventor of the Bo Diddley Beat. Forget that, you can identify him with a half second of his guitar sound. Nobody has sounded like Bo Diddley; everybody that tried has failed and nobody can rip him off because it's too obvious (aside from use of the Bo Diddley beat)
• He appeals to the hacker side of me. I like to screw around with electronics and computers, and here's a musician that builds his own guitars, scooters, and cars.
• He didn't drink or do drugs. I never have and I'd rather not write that dissertation right here, but it's cool to know that somebody that stood apart so much didn't come up with all through substance assistance.
• His music sounds so Southern. Even though he grew up mostly in Chicago. Go figure.

There are a lot of people I could say these things about. Dick Dale was sober, original, passionate, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ike Turner I could attribute some of these to but the big one

• Never without his sense of humor. Despite the absurd bragging in his songs, his name is still Bo Diddley, which essentially means nobody. As much as he's singing from the heart, everything he's written is so lighthearted, but rarely a joke (excluding his riffs with Jerome). Oh yeah Frank Zappa incorporates humor... but he strikes me as a free jazz Weird Al. You can hear the smile on all of these and some of the songs are so deliberately stupid, but at the same time I had to agree when my friend called it "serious Rock & Roll". I really can't think of anybody else who managed to not separate their music from their humor in the same way and on such a consistent basis.

These are opinions and poorly evoked at that, but I wanted to write a tribute because in my book nobody will ever approach his little corner of music. He wasn't perfect (just a man amongst men you might say) and he made plenty of mistakes, but in a strange way he's been a spiritual model to me even though I have no real desire to touch an instrument.

So if you've stuck with me this far maybe you can join me in what I do every time I see this album cover. Raise your hand to the monitor, wave, and say "Hey Bo Diddley"

Bo Diddley's A Twister

This is on request from Tristis Vox and I'd like to thank him/her just for bringing it to my attention that this album hasn't been reissued. For those of you who haven't heard Bo Diddley, you have lived an impoverished life as a Rock & Roll appreciator. I say this with no condescension because I think it was almost a year ago that I first heard Bo Diddley. I don't know, maybe it was two, but I do remember that it was on his birthday, December 30th (I could have waited for this post but I couldn't help it). I walked into Domino Record Shack knowing it was Bo Diddley's birthday and decided "Let's see who this guy is". You see, this was before I learned two very important Rock & Roll maxims: Rock & Roll musicians with ridiculous names are often proportionately ridiculous (in a good way) and that ridiculous Rock & Roll album covers, despite what Bo himself would preach in one of his songs, can purely be judged by how ridiculous the covers are. I learned these rules that day by picking up Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger, which proves both rules well. He quickly rocketed up my list of favorite artists, where he now resides near or at the top.

Anyway, impoverished Bo Diddley non-listener, Allmusic and other sources would like you to think this album is a throwaway effort. Well, that's not entirely incorrect, but this would actually make a great introduction for you. Like many albums with "twist" in the title, this is a cash-in album and as a result half of the tracks on here appear on his other more canonically recognized albums. They aren't even different takes, as far as I can tell these are identical recordings... of some of his best hits like Roadrunner, Bo Diddley and Who Do You Love. But by golly, who doesn't want to hear those songs again? However, unlike the aforeposted cash-in album the other songs are originals written and played by Bo Diddley. They don't change Bo Diddley's sound to something more twist-friendly (they're all pretty twistable already), they're plain old 50's and 60's Bo Diddley, just the way we all like 'em. Sure, they can't compete with the monster hits they're sandwiched next to, but they stand tall next to them and are certainly worth a listen to a seasoned Bo fan. Essentially you have a solid Bo Diddley album mixed with a Greatest Hits.

This particular rip is a miracle. That picture at the top of this post? That's my album, and it's hiding the archival tape holding the cover together. The album doesn't look too much better. However, probably for Bo Diddley's sake, the muses have blessed us by preserving the sound quality despite its scarred visage. Oh it's not perfect, there's certainly a fuzz but thoughout the album, but not an obnoxious one. It sounds great save for two things: the very first second is a skip, so the album gets off to an awkward start. I did what I could, y'all, I couldn't fix it. But no real significan part of the song is lost. However, "Hush Your Mouth" skips around repeatedly and is unlistenable. Thankfully, the song can be found on his other albums, again the exact same recording. It's still included for continuity's sake. As with any album, if somebody can pull up a better rip I'll gladly either put it up here or link to it on here, but this is better than nothing. In fact, really not all that bad.

Anyway, that's might be the longest blurb I've written so I'm done. Here 'tis

Side A:

1. Detour
2. She's Alright
3. Doin' The Jaguar
4. Who Do You Love
5. Shank
6. Road Runner
7. My Babe

Side B:

1. The Twister
2. Hey, Bo Diddley
3. Hush Your Mouth
4. Bo Diddley
5. I'm Looking For A Woman
6. Here 'Tis
7. I Know

Bo Diddley - Surfin' With Bo Diddley

Here's another album I haven't been able to find online nor on CD


Straight up, this is a cash-in on the surf craze, not a normal Bo Diddley album. In fact, Bo is only given credit in about four songs (check the E. McDaniels on the back cover), some of which are covers. At least I think those are the best songs on here. Once you get past the fact that Checker was totally trying to trick you and didn't even put the effort into making a fun description on the back cover, it's a pretty competent surf album and I've definitely heard worse re-released by Sundazed (and I think Sundazed is great). Certainly not a waste of time, and a worthy listen if for no other reason than to experience a lost artifact from Bo's legacy.

This is my own vinyl rip from a less than pristine copy, so beware.

edit: Link to a nicer rip in the comments, October 11th