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Monday, June 2, 2008
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries
ARCHER, FL (ANS) -- Rock-and-roll pioneer Bo Diddley, whose innovative rhythms and guitar effects inspired legions of musicians, died Monday at his North Central Florida home, a spokeswoman said. He was 79.
According to a story written for the Miami Herald by Michael Hamersly,
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| Bo Diddley performing |
Hamersly said that Diddley died surrounded by family "very peacefully, because he passed in his sleep," said grandson Garry Mitchell, 38, deacon of Archer Church of God In Christ, which Diddley attended, and deputy sheriff of Levy County. "All the memories I have of him are wonderful, because he's Bo Diddley to the world, but he's Grandpa when he's home. And his love showed on the road as well as off the road. As an entertainer, he did it with love, and as a Grandpa he did it with love. And those are the memories we'll hold dear as a family because it wasn't a double standard.
"It was wonderful for us to see a person of his stature to be so humble," Mitchell added, "and an example of how we all should live today."
Hamersly continued, "In the 1950s, Diddley -- along with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and a few others -- was a key figure in the transition from blues to rock-and-roll. He built his own instruments and became well-known for his trademark rectangular guitar, but also created his own beat.
The Bo Diddley beat, a distinctive 'shave and a haircut, two bits' rhythm, has powered hundreds of rock songs, most notably the early Rolling Stones version of Not Fade Away, Johnny Otis' Willie and the Hand Jive, Steppenwolf's Magic Carpet Ride, The Who's Magic Bus, David Bowie's Panic in Detroit, Bruce Springsteen's She's The One, U2's Desire, George Michael's Faith, The Smiths' How Soon Is Now? and, most recently, The White Stripes' Screwdriver.
"Diddley's songs Road Runner, Ride On Josephine, I'm a Man, Mona and Who Do You Love have also been frequently covered. While he only hit the pop Top 40 chart once, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987."
Hamersly said that Diddley attributed his style of playing to acquiring "that fast wrist action" from studying classical violin from ages 7 to 15. When he began playing the guitar, he explained to biographer George White, his fingers were too big to move around easily, so he tuned the guitar to an open E and moved a single finger up and down to create chords.
"Diddley's stage antics were influential as well. Elvis Presley was said to have copied Diddley's balancing on his toes and shaking his knees while playing the guitar, while Jimi Hendrix borrowed the idea of playing the instrument above his head," wrote Hamersly.
Diddley is survived by a brother, Rev. Kenneth Haynes; his children, Evelyn Kelly, Ellas McDaniel, Tammi McDaniel and Terri Lynn McDaniel; plus 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. A public funeral will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at Showers of Blessing Harvest Center in Gainesville.
This report was supplemented by Miami Herald wire services.
| Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 44 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com. |
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