Eddie Bo 1930 – 2009

The Mighty Eddie Bo

“Listen – Eddie Bo – Hook and Sling Pt1 – MP3″

Greetings all.

Less than an hour ago, Miles and I were out in the whip headed for some Chinese food when my man DJ Prestige hit me on the cell to let me know that the news had come down that the original king of Funky New Orleans, Mr. Eddie Bo, had just passed away at the age of 79.
If you’re an old school follower of the Funky16Corners thing, you know that for this digger, Eddie Bo is pretty much the man that started it all. There are a couple of funk sides to which I can trace my obsession with the sound, but none of them come remotely close to the impression left on my ears the first time I heard ‘Hook and Sling’.
To this day, it’s one of those 45s that I can spin over and over again without getting tired, and is always a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Bo was one of the great ‘auteurs’ of New Orleans music, recording, composing, arranging and producing everything from old school R&B, to blues, soul and most importantly funk.
The music he made himself or with others has been a major part of the Funky16Corners experience, and to the limited extent that I haven’t presented the contents of my Eddie Bo collection herein, will continue to be.
I had a bunch of tracks planned for the coming week, but the passing of a giant must be noted accordingly. As a result, the coming week will be dedicated entirely to the work of Mr. Edwin Bocage of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The hour is late, and I have real world stuff I have to attend to this evening, but I could not let this sad occasion pass without sending you all a taste of what made this man a musical genius.
I’ll be back on Sunday (and continue through the rest of the week) with some classic Eddie Bo stuff.
He will be missed.

Peace

Larry