Bo Diddley, one of the most iconic names associated with blues and rock and roll died at the age of 79 from heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida.
Diddley made a name for himself in the mid-1950s for pioneering what he called the “shave and a haircut, two bits” guitar playing style. Often mouthed like “bomp ba-bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp” it became the staple sound for rock and roll as we know it today. And like the best rock music, it didn’t immediately gain wide acceptance. Diddley said that prior to his premier on the now legendary Alan Freed radio show, his music was often dismissed with racist terms like “jungle music.” Freed introduced him with what many cite as the first use of the term “rock and roll,” saying, “Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat.”
With his box-shaped guitar and custom-made electronic effects, his sound resembled no one at the time, and later influenced every rock act from Jimi Hendrix to the Velvet Underground to The Jesus & Mary Chain to Nine Inch Nails. Diddley once remarked in his later years, “They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there.” The Jesus & Mary Chain acknowledged him with the single, “Bo Diddley Is Jesus.” His songs “I’m a Man,” “Who Do You Love,” and “The Mule” have been covered endlessly by other rock bands throughout the decades.
While Diddley eventually received wide recognition for his pioneering efforts, earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an exhibit at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he never reached a plateau in which he chose to retire and celebrate his ego. Instead he continued to write new music and tour all the way up to the stroke he suffered last year. He appreciated the accolades, “but it didn’t put no figures in my checkbook,” he said.
I personally had the honor of seeing Diddley perform at Little Steven Van Zandt’s International Garage Rock Festival in New York City in 2004. His sound and personality held up and fitted in perfectly with contemporary acts like The Raveonettes, The Strokes, and the Stooges. Sitting on a stool and plucking away at the guitar in strange ways, he drove kids completely unfamiliar with him to start dancing. He even playfully teased some of the other acts, keeping true with the attitude that makes the music extra special.
Rest In Peace, Bo, you won’t be forgotten. Here are some of his famous quotes to make sure:
“If you ain’t got no money, ain’t nobody calls you honey.”
“Seventy ain’t nothing but a damn number. I’m writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things. Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches. I ain’t quit yet.”
“I am owed. I’ve never got paid. A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun.”
On the Nike “Bo Knows” ad campaign in which he participated in 1989: “I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked.”
“Elvis was not the first. I was the first son-of-a-gun out there. Me and Chuck Berry”
On the key to good songwriting: “A story with some funny lyrics, or some serious lyrics, or some love-type lyrics. But you gotta think in terms of what people’s lives is based on.”
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