She Knows Bo Diddley

Growing up in New York’s Westchester County, Jill Schneider used to ride horses along the Hudson River Parkway and lived a comfortable, upscale life.

But by the early ’80s her life had taken a dramatic turn. She was living in northern Florida, recently divorced and raising a 4-year-old on her own. She was making a living substitute teaching and by summer was broke and living in a trailer on a custodian’s land.

“As [an exercise in] gratitude, I started going to church with this [custodian’s] family,” Schneider recalls. “Bo Diddley heard about this Jewish girl from New Rochelle singing gospels at this black church and wanted to meet me.”

Diddley is a rock ’n’ roll pioneer, with his first hit, “I’m a Man,” topping the charts in 1955. He continues to tour the world today, and was inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Schneider happened to be a trained barefoot-shiatsu therapist, having studied under Shizuko Yamamoto, who was a pioneer in bringing shiatsu to the United States.

“At the time, [Diddley] was in his 50s and was a burly guy and asked me to work on him.” Schneider says.

Playing guitar for hours on end and traveling around the world for so many years had left Diddley in need of massage. “He would say, ‘Jill, mash on me,’ and it was the only thing that ever gave him relaxation,” Schneider says.

“I won’t let anyone massage me but Jill,” Diddley says. “She’s the best.”

Schneider was a musician herself, and had seen Diddley in concert at the famed Brooklyn Paramount theater when she was 13. “He was one of my heroes,” she says. “I would love watching him play.”

Diddley is known throughout the music world as having a very demanding travel schedule. Whenever he returned from a tour, he would call Schneider and she would head over for his massage. The two would talk about music and even playfully collaborate on songs.

Even though Schneider now serves as director of Circle of Life Holistic Programs in Delray Beach, Florida, hours away from where Diddley lives, she still makes time to see him when he needs her.

“We’ve spent this amazing 24 years as friends,” she says. “There’s such a trust between us. He is just a wonderful person.”

— Keith Loria