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Nowadays, it's quite
popular for a young pop singer with barely two or three years in
show business to call herself a "diva." What
nonsense! 
These self-proclaimed
divas can barely spell the word, let along understand what it
means! In most cases, their mothers were still living
at home with their mamas and attending grammar school when
the real divas of music were already touring for years--women like
Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues!
On April 12, 2002, barely
90 days after a heart surgery, Koko appeared at the Promowest
Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio and, just like her old partner from Chess
Records, Bo Diddley, performed for over 90 minutes
non-stop. Memo to The Rolling Stones: You don't have
to take a break after every song--Bo doesn't, Koko doesn't, Johnny
Winter doesn't--why do you? 
Koko came out on stage, backed up by
her band, The Blues Machine, to kick off with one of her traditional
favorites, "I'm a Woman" which starts off her current CD, "Koko Taylor - Deluxe Edition" on Alligator
Records.
The crowd went wild as she whipped them into a blues
frenzy. From there she went through other Koko songs
including "Come to Mama", "Bring Me Some Water", "Blues
Hotel"...
...and finished with her signature song, "Wang Dang
Doodle" which was she recorded in the Chess Records Studios
years ago.
Koko is a true star performer--not only did she thank the
crowd twice for coming out to see her, she also invited everyone to
come to see her again anytime anywhere and then stayed to sign
autographs for over 20 minutes while her band played "Wang Dang
Doodle" riffs in the background. Yes, the Queen of the Blues
is indeed a diva of music!
Bluejeans sends a special hello to
Al & Rebecca of Columbus, some very good friends, who first
encountered the blues at this concert. Al & Rebecca--I
first learned of Koko years ago on the now-out-of-print "Blues
Avalanche" record from the 1972 Montreux Blues Festival!
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