Diddley, Bo

Diddley, Bo,1928–2008, African-American singer, guitarist, and songwriter who was one of the founders of rock and roll, b. near McComb, Miss., as Otha Ellas Bates. He and his cousin, Gussie McDaniel, who raised him and whose last name he adopted, moved to Chicago when he was five. He studied violin, received his first guitar in 1940, and acquired the nicknameBo Diddley.Within a decade he was performing in South Side clubs, often playing the rectangular electric guitar he designed. Diddley became known for his pounding signature beat (bom ba-bom bom, bom bom; later an essential component of rock music) and for his guitar effects, jive talk, and strutting stage style. He reached a wider audience with the release (1955) of his first record, containingBo DiddleyandI'm a Man.He had a number of other hits, but is perhaps most important for his powerful influence on generations of rockers, e.g., ChuckBerry,Little Richard, BuddyHolly, JimiHendrix,Rolling Stones, and BruceSpringsteen.

See G. R. White,Bo Diddley: Living Legend(1998)。

See more Encyclopedia articles on:Music: Popular and Jazz: Biographies