I said it many times, to understand rock, and to even be able to be a truly great guitarist, one must master the blues. It is people like Bo Diddley, that gave birth to almost every music we listen to now.
Son House>Robert Johnson>John Lee Hooker,Bo Diddley and BB KING, Chuck Berry, T Bone Walker and many others> Everything else.
I consider Bo Diddley the second generation blues. Son House and Johnson, were just a guy on an acoustic guitar, but Diddley and the rest did so much more with the instrument.
I never got see Diddley, and now I am kicking myself for not doing so. I saw Hooker within a year of his death, and it was like being back in time. An unforgettable experience. He was old, and couldn't move well. They had to escort him on stage. He played very few notes but every single note he hit, poured right through your soul.
With so many guitar institutes and teachers around, I really wish they would just make the students learn old blues licks. Blues is about feeling and emotion, and licks. Your guitar needs to cry and wail. This old Southern African American blues foundation is so lost among new music. We need to bridge this gap.
