June 2, 2008: Rock icon Bo Diddley, 79, dies at his home in Archer
Diddley at Florida Folk Festival, 1995. Florida Memory
Bo Diddley was born Elias Otha McDaniel in McComb, Mississippi. He learned to play music after his family moved to the south side of Chicago and he was exposed to work by blues performer John Lee Hooker, as well as the pulsating rhythms of the local Pentacostal Church. He played violin in the orchestra of Ebenezer Baptist Church and played guitar on street corners. By 1951, he was performing at local clubs and cut his first demos, "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley" in 1954. The latter became a Number One R&B hit following its release in 1955. Exactly how Elias McDaniel became "Bo Diddley" is unclear but the word Diddley derives from the slang term, diddly-squat, meaning absolutely nothing.
|
|
Diddley performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1955 but angered the host and was barred from future performances after he performed "Bo Diddley" instead of the Tennessee Ernie Ford song "Sixteen Tons" that Sullivan requested.
Diddley released 11 albums on Chess Records between 1958 amd 1963 and performed in numerous package shows with such stars as the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, the Rolling Stones, and Marvin Gaye. |
Over the decades, his signature "Bo Diddley beat" was imitated so much that many artists felt compelled to acknowledge him by name in their songs. The Bo Diddley beat can be heard on countless records, including "Wille and the Hand Jive" by Johnny Otis Show, "Hey Little Girl" by Brownsville Station, "Shame Shame Shame" by Shirley and Company, "Volcano" by Jimmy Buffet, "Please Go Home" by the Rolling Stones, and "Faith" by George Michael, to name just a very few. Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
He moved to Florida in the late 1970s, settling onto a large estate in a custom log cabin he helped build. He spent the last 13 years of his life in nearby Archer. Both towns are near Gainesville, which in 2009 named its downtown performance square "Bo Diddley Community Plaza" in appreciation for the many benefit concerts Diddley performed there.
After suffering a stroke in Iowa in May 2007, he had a heart attack in Gainesville that August. He died the following June in Archer, surrounded by more than 35 family members. One of his grandsons reported his last words were, "I'm going to heaven." His funeral in Gainesville was a four-hour celebration at Showers of Blessings Church and featured a gospel band performing his music. A tribute concert at the city's Martin Luther King Center followed the service and featured performances by his family members, longtime collaborators and his touring band.
He moved to Florida in the late 1970s, settling onto a large estate in a custom log cabin he helped build. He spent the last 13 years of his life in nearby Archer. Both towns are near Gainesville, which in 2009 named its downtown performance square "Bo Diddley Community Plaza" in appreciation for the many benefit concerts Diddley performed there.
After suffering a stroke in Iowa in May 2007, he had a heart attack in Gainesville that August. He died the following June in Archer, surrounded by more than 35 family members. One of his grandsons reported his last words were, "I'm going to heaven." His funeral in Gainesville was a four-hour celebration at Showers of Blessings Church and featured a gospel band performing his music. A tribute concert at the city's Martin Luther King Center followed the service and featured performances by his family members, longtime collaborators and his touring band.
More:
Reuters story: Rock 'n Roll legend Bo Diddley dies in Florida
Bo Diddley bio at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website
Download audio from Bo Diddley's appearance at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, May 27, 1995
Reuters story: Rock 'n Roll legend Bo Diddley dies in Florida
Bo Diddley bio at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website
Download audio from Bo Diddley's appearance at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, May 27, 1995