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!