My Pretty Baby Claimed She Was a Bird
Elvis Costello remembers Bo Diddley. My all-time favorite Bo Diddley quote comes from that long PBS history of rock & roll (merely paraphrased in the linked obit, really spoken as):
"I play guitar – like a drum!"
The Bo Diddley Beat – How YOU can get it.
Comment by Jon —
June 3, 2008 @ 10:29 am
A drum indeed. The man was a blues-rocking beast on the guitar.
John McCain: saving America one stance at a time.
Comment by sam clemens —
June 3, 2008 @ 11:04 am
Let me now flaunt my ignorance.
In my head, I always mixed up Bo Diddley and B.B. King.
Methinks if I had taken the time to explore the two artists, I would have been repaid handsomely.
Tangential question: Of all the musical genres created by African-Americans–Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Soul, R&B, Funk, Disco, Rap–which is the greatest achievement?
(Technically, this is what is called an embarrassment of riches…)
Comment by Nell —
June 3, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
@Sam:
Well, it’s not disco, that’s for sure. It’s something of an embarrassment among the embarrassment of riches…
Though I’m sure that view will pass, leading to a re-appreciation for the giants of disco. Hell, even I wouldn’t dream of dissing Sylvester.
Comment by Nell —
June 3, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
if I had taken the time to explore the two artists, I would have been repaid handsomely
It’s not too late to begin.
Comment by The Modesto Kid —
June 3, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
Funny because in the NY Times obit was a quote from him to the effect that he played guitar like a violin.
Comment by Jim Henley —
June 3, 2008 @ 3:25 pm
He played the violin like a violin. (Same NPR ep showed him playing violin in church.) But do you think the guitar in “Bo Diddley’s a Gunslinger sounds like a violin?
Comment by The Modesto Kid —
June 3, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
No I don’t. But he told his biographer, “My technique comes from bowing the violin, that fast wrist action.â€
Comment by Jim Henley —
June 3, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
That’s interesting. I wonder if it’s true.
Comment by The Modesto Kid —
June 3, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
Yep, interesting. Note if you think about it, playing guitar using the right-hand motion you use in bowing, needn’t translate to “sounding like” a violin — since the pick is totally different from a bow. I play violin moderately well and guitar at least okay (though mostly finger-picking), and I can kind of visualize what he’s talking about. Need to try it out next time I pick up my guitar.