R.I.P. EDDIE BO

Eddie Bo, a New Orleans jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter has died at the age of 79, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Saturday.

The newspaper said Bo had died last Wednesday of a heart attack.

"He was one of the last great New Orleans piano professors, kind of a bridge between Professor Longhair and Allen Toussaint," the paper quoted New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival producer Quint Davis as saying.

"Everyone now has to remember to check their bucket on their own, without Eddie to tell us."

Born Edwin Joseph Bocage, Bo grew up in Algiers and the 9th Ward of New Orleans, the report said.

After graduating from high school, he served in the army and then studied arranging and composing at the Grunewald School of Music, a training ground for scores of professional musicians.

He fronted various bands and wrote and released singles for the Ace, Ric, Apollo, and Chess labels.

His hits included "Check Mr. Popeye" and "Hook and Sling," which reached No. 13 on Billboard's R&B chart in 1969, said The Times-Picayune.

Other artists fared well with his songs, the paper added. Little Richard adapted Bo's "I'm Wise" as "Slippin' and Slidin." Etta James scored a 1959 hit with his "Dearest Darling."

He is also credited with writing Oliver Morgan's signature "Who Shot the La La," according to the report.