Bo Diddley-In Memorium
“History belongs to the victors and in the annals of rock & roll, three men have emerged as winners: Chuck Berry, Little Richard and BO DIDDLEY, a holy trinity who were there at the start”. (Rolling Stone magazine, issue #981, August 2005)
In early on-line chats in 1997, Tom Petty happily answered questions from fans. One of the questions was: ‘You’ve played with a lot of legendary rockers. Any others you would like to play with?” Tom Petty immediately answered, “BO DIDDLEY”. At the 1997 Fillmore shows, the band often played the BO DIDDLEY song “Diddy Wah Diddy”. When introducing the song, Tom Petty said: “There is no one we admire in the whole world more than Mr. BO DIDDLEY. If BO DIDDLEY was English, I think he should be knighted. Actually, this country should build a monument in every State to BO DIDDLEY. Elvis is King, But Diddley is Daddy”. Tom Petty received his wish when BO DIDDLEY opened for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and joined them on-stage for a few songs at the first two of their Irving Plaza, New York shows on April 11th and 12th in 1999.
