The two rhythm and blues men I met early on, that blew my mind as musicians and people never to be forgotten, were Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Bo Diddley. Bo died yesterday. Jay, composer of the immortal "I Put A Spell On You," played here in the early 60s. Somehow we became buddies, he moved here for a while and we hung out. Jay was cool, crazy and a deceptively great musician. The other cool cat I met while I worked at KPOI was Bo Diddley. He was here on June 9, 1960 to play at the SHOW OF STARS concert series, promoted by impresarios Ralph Yempuku and Earl Finch at venerable Civic Auditorium on South King Street. It was Honolulu's indoor venue for anything bigtime. And the rock show were a big deal through the 1950s and 60s. The emcee and talent coordinator was young deejay "Uncle" Tom Moffatt. He's the one on the left, above, holding the shakers in the picture above.
Even Moffatt, who generally leaned away from soul music in favor of wimpy songs was impressed by Bo's hits and the action on the KPOI request lines. So it was that Bo and his even more irrepressible percussionist, maracas-shaking Jerome, appeared at our studios on the Ala Wai canal for an interview. It was wild and so were they. The two spoke their own language, a pre-rap kind of jive talk. If one paid attention it might just be possible to keep up. During our on-air talk I learned that Bo came from Mississippi (as did "Colonel" Finch, a native of Hattiesburg) and grew up learning life and his craft in Chicago. I'd never seen anything like Bo's guitar: It was rectangular-shaped, painted like a '57 Chevy and he called it his "Jupiter Thunderbird." On it he played the classic "Shave and a haircut, two bits" riff that shaped the tune "Bo Diddley" and which he rode to stardom and the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, influencing all that came after.
When I produced the first HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL for KHJ in 1969, it was John Lennon who told us how early Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry records influenced the Beatles as they shaped their sound in Liverpool. Bo was also a writer of funky lyrics, many of his greatest being about the twists and turns of his own life. I don't know that he ever wrote a tune about his post-concert party at the Hilton Hawaiian Village after the Honolulu show. The usual crowd and refreshments were on hand. But so was Jerome. If Bo didn't know his zany sidekick was around, he quickly realized it when, scooping up a liquid refreshment, a frog jumped up at him out of the punchbowl. The obituaries today read, "Rock Pioneer Bo Diddley Dies at 79." But for me and those who rubbed shoulders with him, he lives on, personified by the title of one of his songs that was covered and made even bigger by other artists: "I"m A Man." The man born Elias Bates was a lead story on network TV news and ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. Aloha Bo, brah.
Tom Moffatt photo by City Art, Honolulu; SHOW OF STARS poster courtesy of Wolfgang's Vault, San Francisco.
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