One of my biggest influences. I first saw Bo Diddley on February 15, 1979, at the Ontario Theater in Washington DC, after my friends the D.Ceats and then The Clash. He mentioned at that show he used to live on Rhode Island Avenue in NE DC. When I was a preschooler I lived at 13th & Rhode Island around the same time. About a decade later I saw him play here in Portland and asked him about that. He was living at 26th & Rhode Island from about 1959 to 1966 (and I later found out had a basement studio where he recorded "Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger," which is still fresh and vital after over 45 years). He lived there because he didn't like flying and wanted to be close to the east coast theater circuit (the Howard and WUST in DC, the Apolllo, etc.).
Bo had sass and style and wasn't afraid to mix in humor and a lot of athleticism into his live shows. A lot of "standard" showy rock guitarist moves were things Bo either started or perfected. Nobody ever had a rectangular guitar like that though, and nobody played the tremelo to better effect. I think he had an enormous impact on surf music among other things -- just listen to "Roadrunner" to hear that. Bo was a big influence on a lot of guitarists I knew, including one, George Thorogood, who became famous in part for his extended cover of "Who Do You Love" mashed up with John Lee Hooker's "Bourbon, Scotch, Beer." George returned the favor by having Bo in one of his videos, with a classic pool table showdown. Bo Diddley put the rock in rock'n'roll. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs8FJergjas fh
