Bo Diddley Biography and Album Guide

Classic Rock and Roots

Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll.   His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his use of tremolo and reverb effects to enhance the sound of his distinctive rectangular guitars

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00:00Bo Diddley stands tall as one of the fathers of rock and roll, and his R&B recordings for

00:06the Chess label in the 1950s are some of the earliest examples of rock and roll music.

00:13Bo Diddley was born in Macomb, Mississippi in 1928. He was a hugely influential guitarist

00:20and singer who created his own trademark rhythm and sound, the bouncy Bo Diddley beat, which

00:28would echo in the works of myriads of performers that followed. Diddley's distinctive sound

00:34can be heard in the works of Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, and The Yardbirds, among others.

00:41In 1955, Diddley would score his first big hit, the double-sided Bo Diddley and I'm a Man.

00:49Several other sizable hits would follow, including Mona, Say Man, and Roadrunner. Diddley's unique

00:57sound was courtesy of his highly unconventional band that featured unconventional instrumentalists

01:03such as a maraca player, Jerome Green. Diddley's best recordings can be found on several chess

01:10record compilations, such as the following. The Chess Years, from 1993, His Best, from 1997,

01:18and the story of Bo Diddley, The Very Best of Bo Diddley, from 2006. Bo Diddley passed away in 2008.

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