» Bo Diddley has died

Bo Diddley, the American rhythm and blues singer who was a pivotal figure in the development of pop music, died aged 79.

Had Diddley been able to copyright the hypnotic and highly distinctive rhumba-like beat that was his musical trademark he might have been able to retire many years ago as a very wealthy man, rather than having to eke out a living in his old age, playing night-clubs, as his health deteriorated…

His first single, ‘Bo Diddley‘, backed with ‘I’m A Man’, became a number one hit on the R&B charts in 1955, leading to Diddley becoming the first black performer to appear on Ed Sullivan’s hugely influential TV showcase of new talent.

Ironically, Diddley had been told not to perform his hit, but to sing Tennessee Ernie Ford’s ‘Sixteen Tons’ instead. But Diddley went ahead and played his own song. ‘Ed Sullivan said that I was one of the first colored boys to ever double-cross him’, Diddley would reflect later. ‘Said that I wouldn’t last six months’.

Simply by sticking with what he knew and did best, Diddley never went out of fashion. Over the years he performed as an opening act for the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and the Clash.

» Bo Diddley has died Dvorak Uncensored: General interest observations and true web-log.