"I'm Back Up In To The Future..."

HOT NEWS! HOT NEWS! HOT NEWS!

Though he died last year, BO DIDDLEY still rules the rhythms of the world, says computer scientist Godfried Toussaint in the article "Hunting for rhythm's DNA", published on the Harvard Gazette Online website recently. In the article, Toussaint claims that so compelling is the BO DIDDLEY beat that in the past 50 or 60 years it "has captured the entire planet". Harvard University is the oldest US institution of higher learning, devoted to teaching and research excellence. The Harvard Gazette is the University’s official newspaper, highlighting faculty research, administrative staff, students and events.

Property from the Estate of BO DIDDLEY will be auctioned for the first time at a special Music Icons auction in November 2009. The Julien's Auctions 2009 Music Icons auction will be staged on Saturday November 21st 2009 at 1.00pm EST (6.00pm GMT/UTC) at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York. In addition to the BO DIDDLEY memorabilia, the auction also offers for sale an extensive collection of items from other rock & roll legends including Aerosmith, The Beatles, Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones. On-line bidding in real-time will be available. Register here to become a bidder. Please contact Julien's Auctions at 310-836-1818 or visit JuliensAuctions.com for more information. This amazing collection of rock & roll history is available at the once-in-a-lifetime Music Icons auction presented by Julien's Auctions at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York on Saturday November 21st 2009. With expertise specializing in entertainment memorabilia and high profile estate auctions, Julien's has quickly established itself as the premier auction house in high-end celebrity estate and entertainment auctions. Julien's Auctions presents exciting, professionally managed and extremely successful auctions with full color high quality auction catalogs unlike any other auction company. Previous auctions include the collections of Muhammad Ali, Cher, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Debbie Reynolds, Barbra Streisand and U2 and the estates of Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Mary Pickford and many more.

Secretary of State of Florida Kurt S. Browning has announced the selection of BO DIDDLEY and painter Christopher M. Still for induction into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Both artists were recommended for the Hall of Fame honor by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and will be inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame during Florida Heritage Month in March 2010. BO DIDDLEY had lived in north-central Florida since the late 1970s. "BO DIDDLEY was a founding legend of popular music as we know it," said Secretary of State Browning. "He also deserves recognition for his commitment to at-risk youth, often through support of charity events and music education programs". Established by the Florida Legislature in 1986, the Florida Artists Hall of Fame recognizes persons, living or deceased, who have made significant contributions to the arts in Florida either as performing or practicing artists in their disciplines. These individuals contribute to Florida's national or international reputation as a state with a sustained commitment to the development of cultural excellence. The Florida Artists Hall of Fame currently consists of over 30 inductees, including musician and performer Ray Charles, actor and director Burt Reynolds, writers Zora Neale Hurston, Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway, film-maker Victor Nunez and visual artists Duane Hanson, Robert Rauschenberg and James Rosenquist. Inductees receive a commemorative bronze sculpture commissioned by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The sculpture, La Florida, was created by Enzo Torcoletti, an artist residing in St. Augustine. The Florida Artists Hall of Fame is located on the Plaza Level in the rotunda of the Capitol building in Tallahassee. There is also an image and biographical sketch of the newest inductee in the Capitol Gallery, on the 22nd floor of the Capitol.

BO DIDDLEY's classic tracks "Bo Diddley" and "I'm A Man" are available on the new UK "Rock 'n' Roll" 2-CD album, the latest compilation in the popular Gold series of 2-CD sets available exlusively at HMV. "Rock 'n' Roll" (Global/Gold 5323528) is available from Monday November 9th 2009. Gold is the UK's newest and biggest classic hits radio network. HMV is the UK and Ireland's leading specialist retailer of music, DVD/video, computer games and related products.

BO DIDDLEY's artful metaphor for an accountant: "I've never got paid. A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun", joins recent quotes from President Barack Obama, Paris Hilton and Sarah Palin into the newly published seventh edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Edited by Elizabeth Knowles, the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is an 1,184-page book listing notable quotations from the English language and culture. The book is published by Oxford University Press (OUP) (ISBN 978-0-19-923717-3). The OUP is now one of the largest publishers in the UK and the largest university press in the world.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers' new album "The Dirty Dozen" recently entered Billboard magazine's Blues Albums chart at #1. Released on Capitol/EMI, the album features a number of songs that were originally written or performed by Chess Records legends BO DIDDLEY, (a rocking reworking of his classic 1965 song "Let Me Pass"), Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. To mark the success of "The Dirty Dozen", we recently had the opportunity to interview George Thorogood for BoDiddley.com. Read George's thoughts on BO DIDDLEY and his music, plus what it was like performing with him at Live Aid and shooting the "Bad To The Bone" video, in this exclusive interview for BoDiddley.com.

BO DIDDLEY's original July 1965 recording of his track "Let Me Pass" is now available to purchase as an MP3 download album from the Bo Diddley iTunes Store and at other major on-line retail outlets.

Writing in the Fall 2009 issue of the quarterly journal "Southern Cultures", (Vol. 15, No. 3), noted author and scholar Dr. William R. Ferris includes BO DIDDLEY in his listing of Top Ten Blues Greats. Dr. Ferris is a former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis, Tennessee and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. A widely recognized leader in Southern studies, African American music and folklore, he is the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the senior associate director of its Center for the Study of the American South. "Southern Cultures" journal is published by the Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an academic organization dedicated to the study of Southern history, literature and culture, as well as ongoing social, political and economic issues.

The Spectral Pride, a 4-piece recording venture based in Yorkshire, England, have released "Diddley", a tribute album to the music of BO DIDDLEY. The album is currently available for free MP3 download from the band's website. (Note: both webpage and audio tracks contain some strong language and drug references). The 10 tracks that make up "Diddley" are also available for free download in a variety of other audio formats at Bandcamp.

Also new at Bandcamp is experimental band Kicksville's radical reworking of the BO DIDDLEY classic "Who Do You Love". The track is also available at the band's MySpace.

We are delighted to announce the launch of BoDiddley.com, The Official Bo Diddley Web Site. BoDiddley.com will offer: *Bo Diddley merchandise, *Digital downloads of your favorite Bo Diddley songs as well as never released material, *DVD release of Bo Diddley's last recorded performance. BoDiddley.com, The Official Bo Diddley Web Site.

We are delighted to announce the launch of The Official Bo Diddley Facebook Page, providing up to date news, photos, audio, video and links.

The Official BO DIDDLEY MySpace Page has been launched. MySpace is a social networking service which allows users to sign up free to the site and build their own on-line microsite where users can upload their own photos, videos and music and express their own identity and interests and attract like-minded people to join their site or vice versa. Once you have invited another MySpace user to be your friend and they accept, their site link will add itself to your site. Any MySpace users with their own MySpace account will be able to add The Official BO DIDDLEY MySpace Page to their site.

During his more than half-century career, BO DIDDLEY was actively involved with and committed to a great number of charities and non-profit groups across the US. He was a spokesperson for the American Health Care Association, he worked with Hopefest for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the Say No to Drugs campaign, where he participated as a major influence in reaching youth about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. He held benefit concerts for cancer, hurricane victims, law enforcement, the Achua County, Florida Homeless Night Out program, the blind and for the mentally and physically challenged at the Tacachale Institution in Gainesville, Florida. The BO DIDDLEY Legacy MySpace Page has recently been launched to reflect and give further information about a number of the national and local organisations and charitable causes for which BO DIDDLEY worked so tirelessly. MySpace is a social networking service which allows users to sign up free to the site and build their own on-line microsite where users can upload their own photos, videos and music and express their own identity and interests and attract like-minded people to join their site or vice versa. Once you have invited another MySpace user to be your friend and they accept, their site link will add itself to your site. Any MySpace users with their own MySpace account will be able to add The BO DIDDLEY Legacy MySpace Page to their site.

To mark the first anniversary of BO DIDDLEY's passing, Billboard.com has published a 6-page feature article written by Gary Graff titled "Remembering Bo Diddley". Included are tributes from many artists including Billy Gibbons, Steve Howe, Ted Nugent, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Satriani, George Thorogood and Keith Urban. Also included in the feature is a YouTube video clip taken from the DVD of BO DIDDLEY's last recorded performance in 2007 at Australia's Byron Bay Bluesfest. The DVD release of the full performance is expected later in 2009.

"Ride On: The Chess Masters 1960-1961" (Hip-O Select CD 001294602) is the title of the third major BO DIDDLEY 2-CD compilation set to be released by Hip-O Select. Limited to 5,000 non-numbered limited edition copies, by the time of these recordings, BO DIDDLEY was a recording star with a string of hits and classic tracks and was living in Washington, D.C. with a fairly basic recording studio in the basement of his Rhode Island Avenue home. There, he self-produced demos, finished recordings and sent them to Chess Records in Chicago. This was, at the time, simply revolutionary; recording artists didn’t own their own studios and produce their own recordings. Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and James Brown were soon to change that, but these recordings and BO DIDDLEY were there first. All 54 tracks on these two CDs were recorded over a 13-month period in BO DIDDLEY’s basement studio and delivered to Chess. Many went on to be the crux of such classic BO DIDDLEY LPs as "In The Spotlight", "Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger" and "Bo Diddley Is A Lover" and included such key BO DIDDLEY tracks as "Ride On Josephine", "Live My Life" and the title track to "Gunslinger". 17 others are previously unreleased, while many others are simply rare. Some of the recordings are demo raw, while others as polished as any BO DIDDLEY track. The music is also as lively and as diverse as you'd expect from BO DIDDLEY: rockers, novelties, instrumentals, blues, doo wop ballads et al. His band at the time is present more often than not: Jerome Green on maracas; Peggy Jones on guitar; Clifton James on drums; with a rotating piano seat including Otis Spann, Lafayette Leake and more. Like the previous two Hip-O Select collections of BO DIDDLEY’s historic Chess recordings, this double CD comes with great period photos, in-depth liner notes and track-by-track research courtesy of George R. White, BO DIDDLEY's biographer and discographer. Hip-O Select is an Internet-only retail site specializing in reissues of hard to find and out of print titles from the Universal Music Group. Selling directly to customers through its website, the label has released close to 200 projects featuring such diverse artists as The Animals, James Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Etta James, Peggy Lee, The Supremes, DJ Shadow, Suzanne Vega and Joe Walsh.

"Bo Diddley Collector's Pack", a new 4-track EP featuring an exclusive unreleased track from Bo's vault, is now available to download from the Apple iTunes Bo Diddley Store. Also available at the Store are a wide selection of BO DIDDLEY albums, ringtones and music videos.

The new "Rock Band 2" music video game pays homage to BO DIDDLEY by featuring his Gretsch G6138 "Bo Diddley" and Gretsch G6199 "Billy-Bo" Jupiter Thunderbird artist signature model guitars. The Gretsch G6138 "Bo Diddley" is a faithful reproduction of the iconic rectangle-shaped guitar Gretsch built for BO DIDDLEY in 1958. The Gretsch G6199 "Billy-Bo" Jupiter Thunderbird is a 21st Century version of the guitar originally designed by BO DIDDLEY in 1959 and adapted by ZZ Top guitarist Billy F Gibbons. "Rock Band 2" is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by MTV Games as the sequel to the popular "Rock Band" video game. The "Rock Band" games allow players to perform in virtual bands by providing up to four players with the ability to play three different peripherals modeled after musical instruments. These peripherals are used to simulate the playing of rock music by hitting scrolling notes on-screen. The game offers single-player and multiplayer gameplay for lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals, allowing for any combination of parts to play as a band.

Gainesville, FL's Downtown Community Plaza has been renamed in honor of BO DIDDLEY. The Plaza is located at 111 E. University Avenue on the corner of SE 1st Street and E. University Avenue in the heart of historic Gainesville. In April 1976, as part of the bicentennial observance, the square was designed by University of Florida (UF) architect Harry Merritt and dedicated as the Community Plaza. Many of the materials used came from buildings that had stood on that site in an effort to tie the site to early Gainesville. The Plaza was remodeled in the 1990s to make it appropriate for activities. BO DIDDLEY appeared for free in concert at the Plaza on numerous occasions, the last being in 2006.

Tributes to BO DIDDLEY from stars including Elvis Costello, Ronnie Hawkins, Sir Mick Jagger, BB King, Robert Plant, Bonnie Raitt and George Thorogood, along with video tributes including ones from the Voice of America, Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Experience Music Project, are available to view in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website's Forum and then by clicking on the "Enter My Forum" button.

Two new songbooks of BO DIDDLEY's music have recently been published. "Bo Diddley Memorial Songbook 1928-2008" (ISBN 978-1847727596) is published by Omnibus Press in the UK. The 80 pages include photographs and a biography, plus a total of 14 songs with song notes arranged for piano, voice and guitar. The song titles are: "Before You Accuse Me", "Bo Diddley", "Crackin' Up", "Hey, Good Lookin'", "I Can Tell", "I'm A Man", "Mona" (aka "I Need You Baby"), "Pills", "Pretty Thing", "Ride On Josephine", "Road Runner", "Say Man", "Who Do You Love" and "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover". "Bo Diddley Guitar Solos" by Fred Sokolow (ISBN 978-1423464136) is published by the Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. The 96 pages include note-for-note transcriptions with tabs for 18 of his best-known songs, along with detailed information about his unique style. The song titles are: "Bo Diddley", "Bo's Guitar", "Bring It To Jerome", "Crackin' Up", "Diddley Daddy", "Diddy Wah Diddy" "Gunslinger", "Hey Bo Diddley", "I'm A Man", "Mona" (aka "I Need You Baby"), "Mumblin' Guitar", "Oh Yea", "Road Runner", "Sad Sack", "Say Man", "She's Fine, She's Mine", "Who Do You Love" and "You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)".

A reworking of BO DIDDLEY's classic 1958 song "Dearest Darling" is the title track of chanteuse Jenni Muldaur's new album of vintage soul and jump blues tunes. Jenni is the daughter of musicians Geoff and Maria Muldaur and the tracks on her latest album reflect the music that she grew up with and loves. A number of tracks from the album, including her great version of "Dearest Darling", can currently be heard by visiting Jenni's MySpace.

The Sunday August 17th 2008 edition of the Voice of America's (VOA) "People in America" radio program explored BO DIDDLEY's life and music. Calling him "one of America's greatest rock and roll guitarists", the program described how "his influence was so widespread that it is hard to imagine what rock and roll would have sounded like without him". MP3 and RealAudio downloads, plus a transcript of the broadcast, are available by visiting the "People in America" webpage. Broadcast in VOA Special English, "People in America" is a 15-minute weekly program about influential people in American history. These VOA Special English broadcasts communicate with people around the world who are not fluent in English. Special English broadcasters read at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are fluent English speakers understand complex subjects.

BO DIDDLEY has been awarded a posthumous Doctor of Fine Arts degree by the University of Florida (UF) for his influence on American popular music. When he died on Monday June 2nd 2008, the process of honoring him was already in the works. He was nominated last fall for the honor, but a lengthy approval process pushed a vote on the recognition past his demise. The Faculty Senate approved awarding the degree Thursday March 20th 2008 and it was endorsed by the College of Fine Arts. The honorary degree was presented to his daughter Evelyn Kelly on behalf of her father at August 2008 commencement ceremonies. BO DIDDLEY joined a distinguished list of Gator honorary degree recipients that includes poet Robert Frost and composer Aaron Copland. We have posted a video clip of the presentation, plus interviews with Evelyn Kelly and UF President J. Bernard Machen. The video is now available in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website's Forum and then by clicking on the "Enter My Forum" button. BO DIDDLEY's nomination for an honorary degree received letters of support from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame officials and Philadelphia International Records chairman Kenneth Gamble. A resume was submitted that included a list of hits "that rivaled those of Chuck Berry in quality" and accomplishments such as influencing the Rolling Stones and other musicians. The UF trustees' document supporting the honor states: "BO DIDDLEY ... has had a vast influence on the popular music world... BO DIDDLEY's work paved the way for an entire generation of artists, many of whom achieved notoriety by imitating and developing his work... BO DIDDLEY is not only a musician, but also an innovative composer who created a new guitar sound that was quickly absorbed by other players".

The September/October 2008 issue of "Garden & Gun" magazine included a fine tribute feature titled "Goodbye, BO DIDDLEY" written by Matt Hendrickson. Also included in the magazine is the article "BO DIDDLEY Saved My Life" written by the popular singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. In it he describes a visit he paid in February 2007 to Mali in West Africa and a performance he gave there of BO DIDDLEY's song "Who Do You Love" with the internationally acclaimed Malian musician Oumou Sangare. As a tribute to BO DIDDLEY, Jimmy Buffett has also posted a brief video clip of his performance of "Who Do You Love" on his Margaritaville.com website. The video clip, titled "JB Jammin in Africa", is located here. "Garden & Gun" magazine publishes highly visual stories and essays about special places and landscapes in 21st Century Southern America.

The August 2008 issue of the "Smithsonian" magazine included a BO DIDDLEY tribute article written by Ned Sublette. The "Smithsonian" magazine is a monthly magazine which chronicles the arts, history, sciences and popular culture of the times. Each subscription includes a complimentary membership to the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the US Government and by funds from its endowment and contributions and from profits from its shops and the magazine.

US President George W. Bush paid tribute to BO DIDDLEY during an event in honor of Black History Month held in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. The President's remarks are now available to view in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website's Forum and then by clicking on the "Enter My Forum" button.

Tribute was paid to BO DIDDLEY in the US House of Representatives on Monday June 9th 2008 "for his invaluable contributions to American culture" and condolences paid to his family "on the death of this remarkable and talented man". A full transcript of the proceedings for "Saluting The Life And Music Of The Late BO DIDDLEY" is available in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website Forum and then by clicking on the "Enter My Forum" button.

Tribute was paid to BO DIDDLEY in the UK Parliament's House of Commons on Tuesday June 10th 2008, noting that "British rock music... owes a great deal to this outstanding American genius of down-to-earth songs and rhythms". A full transcript of the Early Day Motion "Legacy of BO DIDDLEY" is available in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website Forum and then by clicking on the "Enter My Forum" button.

Mark Diamond of the Miami, FL-based Diamond Images, Inc. imaging services company has created an on-line BO DIDDLEY Memorial of photographs taken at the recent "BO DIDDLEY Day" in Gainesville.

We have posted four tribute videos of previously unseen footage of BO DIDDLEY, taped in 1981 in a small club in Washington, DC, performing mesmerizing versions of his classic songs including "Bo Diddley", "Diddley Daddy" and "Hey Bo Diddley". These and other tribute videos and comments are available in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website Forum and then by clicking on the "Enter My Forum" button.

The popular Long Beach, CA-based acoustic rock singer-songwriter Mister B has recently composed a tribute to BO DIDDLEY titled "Thank U Bo Diddley". We have posted a YouTube video clip of a recent performance of the song in this BO DIDDLEY-The Originator website's Forum. Mister B currently also has an audio recording of "Thank U Bo Diddley" available for free download from his MySpace website.

BO DIDDLEY's dear friend Kim Farinacci has recently updated her MySpace website. Included are a couple of YouTube video clips from Gainesville, FL's recent "BO DIDDLEY Day", including the final, poignant, salute to BO DIDDLEY by three Florida law enforcement officers. Kim performed an outstanding version of the BO DIDDLEY classic "Who Do You Love" on-stage at the recent BO DIDDLEY celebration concert in Gainesville.

We were delighted to be able to provide the creators of the new SoundUnwound.com website with much of the content for their BO DIDDLEY page. SoundUnwound, the new music site from IMDb.com and Amazon.com, includes artist profiles, photos, discographies, streaming song clips, links to YouTube videos, timelines, notable events and trivia, links to websites, music recommendations for similar artists and links to buy digital tracks through the AmazonMP3 store.

BO DIDDLEY's entry on the Simple English Wikipedia website is now on-line. We were delighted to be able to provide the creators of the Simple English Wikipedia website with much of the content for their BO DIDDLEY article. The Simple English Wikipedia is an easy to read on-line encyclopedia for people who are learning English. The Simple English Wikipedia's articles can be used to help with homework or just for the fun of learning about new ideas. Articles in the Simple English Wikipedia use fewer words and easier grammar than the Ordinary English Wikipedia. The Simple English Wikipedia is also for people with different needs, such as students, children, adults with learning difficulties and people who are trying to learn English.

BO DIDDLEY's entry on the recently launched Mississippi Wiki website is now on-line. We were delighted to be able to provide the creators of the Mississippi Wiki website with much of the content for their BO DIDDLEY article. Mississippi Wiki: The On-line Guide to Mississippi is a new web-based free-content encyclopedia and directory developed by the Jackson, MS-based advertising agency Maris, West & Baker. Mississippi Wiki is a website focusing exclusively on Mississippi people, places and things and is one of only a handful of US State wikis in existence. In addition to an overview of his life, career and achievements, the BO DIDDLEY entry on Mississippi Wiki also features a great YouTube embedded video of his typically idiosyncratic performance of "Road Runner" on the Clay Cole TV show from 1962, backed by Duchess on guitar and Edell Robertson on drums.

BO DIDDLEY is one of the nominees at the new on-line Hit Parade Hall of Fame website. Each nominee is required to have had at least two Top Ten Pop, Country or R&B hit singles and/or albums. The nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame consists of more than two dozen radio and music industry executives. Once nominated, a recording artist has a period of three years to reach a sufficient number of votes from visitors to the website. (Requires registration to vote). Fans can register their vote and hear his 1959 R&B and Pop hit "Say Man", here.

BO DIDDLEY is one of the inaugural nominees at the new on-line Florida Music Hall of Fame website. The Florida Music Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, application in process. The goal of the Florida Music Hall of Fame is to establish a state-of-the-art museum and entertainment complex honoring the outstanding contributions that Floridians have made to the American music industry, educating future generations about the State's musical history and helping to nurture and promote upcoming artists and musicians. Membership in the Florida Music Hall of Fame is available in four categories: Friends of Florida Music, Artists and Media, Music Industry and Live Music Venues. Membership includes Elect Hall of Fame Inductees, Induction Ceremony pre-sale tickets, Induction Party passes and Members Only Newsletter. In the year 2000, BO DIDDLEY was inducted into the North Florida Music Association's Hall of Fame.

A new documentary movie "Electrified: The Story of The Maxwell Street Urban Blues" examines the history of electrified urban Chicago blues and how it gave birth to rock & roll. Written and directed by independent TV writer/producer Phil Ranstrom, the movie is an offshoot project from his 2006 documentary film "Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street", which pays tribute to Chicago's world-famous Maxwell Street open-air market, from its beginnings in the late 19th century to its turbulent end in the mid-1990s when the property was sold to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to expand their South Campus. Both movies feature interviews with BO DIDDLEY. For more than a century, Maxwell Street was a port of entry into Chicago for immigrants arriving from Europe, Latin America and the Southern States. Operating in the style of the European street markets, in the 1930s and 1940s the area became famous for its blues music and street musicians and the electrified urban Chicago blues popularized by artists including BO DIDDLEY, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Muddy Waters that gradually evolved into rock & roll. A new Maxwell Street Documentary Channel at YouTube.com now has a number of authorised video clip extracts from the two movies available to view on-line. Both movies are Big Shoulders Digital Video productions in conjunction with the Chicago Historical Society.

BO DIDDLEY, Chuck Leavell, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, John Sebastian and Bob Weir are amongst the musicians slated to appear in a feature length documentary tribute to the late rock & roll piano legend Johnnie Johnson, currently in production. Titled "Johnnie Be Good" and directed, produced and written by Art Holliday, the movie has a projected completion date of 2009.