Moe Diddley

The genius of The Velvet Underground has for me always been the way they melded together (among other things) the sounds of dirty-ass rock 'n roll, New York vocal groups, literate lyrics, avant-garde 20th century classical music, Booker T and M.G's, and at the core, the drumming of Maureen Tucker, along with Sterling Morrison's (im)perfect guitar playing which owe as much to Bo Diddley as anything else. Here's Moe Tucker from her long out of print 1989 LP, Life In Exile After Abdication. She steps out from behind the drums here and plays guitar on "Bo Diddley." The rhythm section is Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth. Also, Jim Marshall, who has been like Santa Claus this week in Fluville, has supplied me with a recording of The Velvets rehearsing "Venus In Furs" at Warhol's Factory to the tune of "Crackin' Up," and has also pointed out that "The Gift" is John Cale reading over the Velvets playing a version of Bo Diddley's "Diddling."

Download:

"Bo Diddley" mp3
by Maureen Tucker, 1989.
from Life In Exile After Abdication
out of print

"Venus In Furs/Crackin' Up" mp3
by The Velvet Underground, 1966.
from At The Factory: Warhol Tapes
bootleg

"Diddling" mp3
by Bo Diddley, 1962.
from The Chess Years 12 CD Box Set
out of print

"The Gift" mp3
by The Velvet Underground, 1968.
available on White Light/White Heat

"Guess I'm Falling In Love" (Instrumental) mp3
by The Velvet Underground, 1967.
available on Another View