On June 2nd, legendary rock performer Elias McDaniel, better known to the world as Bo Diddley, passed away in his home in Archer, Florida from heart failure. Diddley’s health had been waning in the last year and a half after a heart attack and stroke which severely crippled the musician.

The originator of the “shave and a haircut, two-bits,” beat exemplified in songs such as “I’m a Man” and “Bo Diddley,” Diddley was a rock and roll pioneer who significantly bridged the boogie of blues artists like John Lee Hooker to the rock and roll stylings of Chuck Berry. Those, along with songs like “Roadrunner” and “Pretty Things” are among the essential sides he cut while on the Chess Records roster. Along with a trademark sound, he brought a stylish square guitar and thick rimmed glasses to his ensemble.

Diddley’s legacy will forever be remembered through the artists he inspired perhaps even more than his own music. Every sixties garage rock band (and many beyond then) owe him a debt for teaching them how to rock out to the blues. Everyone from The Sonics to The Creation covered his legendary song “I’m a Man.” His jungle beat was where primitive rock and roll like The Stooges or The Troggs was built off of. On top of that, The Pretty Things were named after one of his songs, and Spacemen 3 turned his “She’s Alright” into a 6 minute psychedelic workout. Most notably, George Thorogood lifted the melody of “I’m a Man” for his song “Bad to the Bone”, and you can catch Bo himself in the music video to the song, holding his trademark guitar.

From lyrics about being an outlaw to his 1956 banishment from The Ed Sullivan Show, Diddley was a pioneering outlaw for rock and roll music. He will be sincerely missed, and his music forever remembered.

“Bo You Don’t Know Diddley”

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