We've been talking about a probate dispute between Bo Diddley's heirs and his attorney and business managers/agents. The legendary singer/songwriter was a victim of unscrupulous recording practices in the 1950s and 1960s, practices that resulted in Diddley having few rights to his music. After he died in 2008, his attorney told the heirs they could expect a sizeable annual income when the copyrights to Diddley's works started to revert back to his estate. Earlier this year, though, the attorney petitioned a Florida probate court for permission to sell the rights, in part to pay a couple of tax bills.

One of those tax bills is owed on a 2007 transaction, in which Diddley sold some of his public performance rights for $1.54 million. According to one of his two agent/managers, that sale took place in November of that year.

The granddaughter who took care of Diddley and other heirs say there's a problem with the sale. Diddley had suffered a debilitating stroke six months before. In November of 2007, he was unable to speak coherently and suffered from aphasia (the inability to use or understand language). The singer could not understand what was happening around him, according to his family, so how on earth could he have been competent enough to sign a legal document?

Diddley's manager says she had power of attorney at the time of the sale but was uneasy about making the transaction without consulting Diddley. She didn't want to be seen as "taking advantage" of her role. Diddley needed the money, though, to pay the health care bills from the stroke. So, the manager flew to Florida with Diddley's other agent/manager, and they spent an hour with the singer explaining the transaction. When they left, he had signed the paperwork.

And just after they left, Diddley began yelling, "What did I just do?" over and over again.

To be continued.

Source: The Gainesville Sun, "Bo Diddley's estate in limbo," Kimberly C. Moore, 02/19/11