Bo Diddley, the musical pioneer whose songs, such as “Who Do You Love?” and “Bo Diddley,” melded rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll through a distinctive thumping beat, has died. He was 79.
Diddley died Monday, surrounded by family and loved ones at his home in Archer, Florida, a family spokeswoman said.
The cause was heart failure, his family said.
A shame.
Apsaras
So it goes…
Otto Man
In high school, I caught Bo Diddley performing at an outdoor concert at a college near my home.
In the middle of his set, some drunken frat boy threw a beer bottle up onto the stage, and it shattered near Diddley’s microphone stand. He stopped the band, gave the audience a quick but stern “Hey now, we’re not going to have any of that shit, you hear?” and then launched back into the exact riff where he’d paused. It was like they’d lifted the needle off a record and dropped it right back down. Fucking brilliant.
RIP, Bo. Have fun hanging out with Korman.
Non-Interrogative Diddly
HATE WHITEY!!!
KILL WHITEY!!!
.
cleek
hmm. i guess that explains why my feet, out-of-the-blue, started doing the Bo Diddley beat yesterday.
NickM
He was great. There was his beat, of course, but another thing that I love about him was his noisy guitar sound, the beginning, I think, of using distortion in rock n’ roll. He deserves some credit for being one of the inventors of the fuzzy, chunky rhythm guitar sound, IMO.
A lot of great ones going, lately.
ed
Whom. It’s “Whom do you love?” (“You (do) love whom”).
TheFountainHead
From CNN:
Exactly.
KC
Man, that’s too bad. Bo Diddley gone. Well, at least one thing may never end.
Cromagnon
Bo Diddly, Bo Diddly have you heard
We’re gonna jump from a big iron bird
Airborne Bo! Easy landings
khead
Also known for assessing the value of a hot watch in Philly: 50 bucks.
Elroy's Lunch
“Tombstone hand and a graveyard mind,
Just 22 and I don’t mind dying.”
Ellas McDaniel – 1956
RIP Bo.
zzyzx
This is one of these deaths that shock you because you assume it had happened decades ago. RIP Bo.
Dork
SPEAKING OF THE END……….This could the be the very thing that saves John’s blood pressure.
Keith
You rock! I LOVE that scene
Ned Raggett
Damn sad, RIP, but a full life lived — just wished he could have earned more from it, he deserved every penny. My blog mutterings say more and I’ve linked in to some good interviews and stories.
DrDave
Me too:
Pawnbroker: Burnt my fingers, man.
Louis Winthorpe III: I beg your pardon?
Pawnbroker: Man, that watch is so hot, it’s smokin’.
Louis Winthorpe III: Hot? Do you mean to imply stolen?
Pawnbroker: I’ll give you 50 bucks for it.
Louis Winthorpe III: Fifty bucks? No, no, no. This is a Rouchefoucauld. The thinnest water-resistant watch in the world. Singularly unique, sculptured in design, hand-crafted in Switzerland, and water resistant to three atmospheres. This is *the* sports watch of the ’80s. Six thousand, nine hundred and fifty five dollars retail!
Pawnbroker: You got a receipt?
Louis Winthorpe III: Look, it tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad.
Pawnbroker: In Philadelphia, it’s worth 50 bucks.
Louis Winthorpe III: Just give me the money.
Louis Winthorpe III: [looking in display case] How much for the gun?
RSA
I saw Bo Diddley play a few years ago at a local club. He was telling stories and playing like he was a much younger guy (I mean, Man, I suppose). RIP.
HyperIon
i wonder why/how he ended up in Archer.
it used to be the quintessential N Fla VERY small town close to UF. one main way out of Gainesville was via Archer Road.
fahey
a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind
just 79, and don’t mind dyin’
Birdzilla
And were still left with MARYLN MANSON and ICE T
Birdzilla
And were still left with MARYLN MANSON and ICE T
ed
Also known for assessing the value of a hot watch in Philly: 50 bucks.
One of the top five acting performances of All Time. Easily.
neil
This is sad news. What an influential musician he was. The r&b part of the British Invasion – the Stones, the Animals, and the Pretty Things in particular – owe a great deal to Mr. McDaniel – and all of them sang his praises – and his songs.
The Stones cover of “Mona” has to be one of the moodiest, most atmospheric tracks they ever laid down. Even their cover of “Not Fade Away” – which was Buddy Holly doing Bo Diddley – shows they had the “Bo Diddley” beat down cold – all the Stones had to do was bring it back to the “source”, and it sounded completely new. He was directly and indirectly responsible for so much music that I still love to this day.
RIP.
bago
Soon to be followed up by the interrogative “What is love?”.
MelodyMaker
dang, I reallly didn’t know he was that old. Happy trails.
I witnessed Bo in a mostly empty hair-rock club in Vancouver in ’87. Finishes a couple of numbers, gets shit for applause and states: “Ain’t Minneapolis.” My drunk companion and self crashed backstage to meet him when they finished.
Some people you just gotta see live to get how damn good they are, and Bo was probably the first to teach me that.
So I suggest you all go see Jeff Beck now. :)
Chuck Butcher
Bo, you rocked, man.
Bob In Pacifica
Bo Diddley and Ralph Lauren. Odd couple. Don’t these things come in threes?
Keith
You mean Yves Saint Laurent? To the best of my knowledge, RL is still alive and well (and still collecting one of the world’s great car collections)
Bob In Pacifica
The French guy who did something with fashion.