Guitar players

Bo Diddley 1928 – 2008

The word unique is used far too often, to the point where it has little meaning. But that’s exactly what Bo Diddley was, unique. A true original.

While the Rock ‘n Roll musicians of the mid and late fifties drew their influences from country music and the blues, Diddley went somewhere else. His signature rythmic guitar style owed more to the beating drums of African musicians than it did anything else. And then there was that rectangular guitar…

Like many of his contemporaries Diddley was only fully appreciated late in life, and yet his influence can be heard on songs from artists as diverse as Muddy Waters (Mannish Boy), Buddy Holly (Not Fade Away), Bruce Springsteen (She’s the One), George Thorogood (Bad to the Bone),and George Michael (Faith).

I first heard Bo Diddley on a Chess sampler when I was 17. And while there were many great songs on that record, including Johnny B Goode, Dust My Broom, and Walking By Myself, it was Bo Diddley’s Bo Diddley that made the greatest impression.

Update: Danny has posted a very poignant news article over at Guitar Players Center.

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