In 2000, my new girlfriend's (and now wife) parents were coming to town. We met at the Blue Plate Diner on the east side of Madison, WI. "Meeting the parents" is always a stressful time. As we broke the ice, Denis told me about the book he had written with Bo Diddley. He was convinced he could still find a publisher for his book. No matter where he was, he often had a 3 ring binder with a copy of his book in it.
Denis passed away in 2006, his book never published. In 2015, I was visiting my mother-in-law in Kennebunkport, Maine. I set out to clean up the garage of all the boxes of various stored 'stuff'. There was a box with peeling yellowed tape, and a faded marker "Bo." Openinfg up - there were programs, photos, cassette tapes (I assume recordings of interviews), and a 3.5" floppy disk. I ordered a USB disk drive, and low and behold, there was Denis' book, in all of it's Microsoft Word 6.0 glory.
I copied the files. Carol had always askedm me if I could post this story to the web, remove all copyrights, and let the world read the Bo's history. So, witha. little cleanup (Office 365 does not like Work 6.0 files), and a bit of markdown formatting, here is Denis Lane's Rhythm Maker. -Doug Sillars, 2020
To Our Mothers
AUTHOR'S NOTE
This book derives, in part, from my numerous conversations and interviews with Bo Diddley conducted between the years 1989 and 1995. Because of this lingering gestation, it should be noted that some of the circumstances described in the earlier chapters have inevitably changed, and certainly all of the children have grown.
Ever the gentleman, Bo was not only generous with his personal time, but also extended to me access to his relatives, friends and associates, many of whom are mentioned or quoted in the composite family and performance scenes described in the text. I am more than grateful to him for these gestures.
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BAD DAD 1
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EVERYBODY'S BEAU 111
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LOVE IS STRANGE 155
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BO'S BELLE 189
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JUG BUDDIES 220
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LOS LUNACY 326