Mockingbird, Diamond Ring, and RIP

Bo Diddley passed away today. I have written about my favorite songs set to the Bo Diddley beat on the original SwanBlog.

I saw him in concert at Glam Slam in 1991. Bo was in his mid-60s, but it is still the best concert I have ever seen. At one point, the drummer got tired (even though, at one point in the show, Bo sat down at the kit and tapped out the Bo Diddley beat on the various percussion instruments), so he paused to address the audience. In an attempt at motivating the younger generation, he told us to "Get off the reefer and get involved." Even though I wasn't on the reefer, I was glad to have the pep talk.

At the 1991 concert, he played a handful of songs that I don't think were ever released. One was a ditty declaring, "You're ugly, and your breath stinks too/Scope don't work. You need Listerine." Another was an attempt at social consciousness, pleading, "In America, this should not be/This should not be in our country," followed by the refrain, "Lord have mercy/God bless America."

Drummers everywhere will all get a break now that Bo Diddley has left the stage.