Ellas Otha Bates, who became Elias McDaniel, but was of course, better known as Bo Diddley, died Monday, at his home in Archer, Florida, at the age of 79. The cause of his death was given as heart failure.
He was a world famous guitarist and vocalist, and known for his unusually shaped, usually rectangular guitars.
He was famous for such blues classics as “Who Do You Love?”, Before You Accuse Me”, and of course “Bo Diddley”. His signature rhythm became known as the Bo Diddley beat.
I was fortunate enough to see him play live in England in the early 1980’s, and a great performance it was too, in a dance hall that was big enough to contain the audience, but small enough for it to be a more intimate kind of event than one gets in a concert hall.
Bo Diddley may be gone, but his music, and his musical influences will live on.
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