 Bo Diddley
Along with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley was one of the most influential
figures in the development of rock & roll. He inspired numerous rock
groups, including The Rolling Stones, The
Yardbirds, Manfred Mann and
The Animals.
He was born Ellas McDaniel on December 30, 1928, in McComb,
Mississippi and at the age of five, moved with his family to Chicago.
At seven he started to play the violin, and later taught himself to
play guitar.
As a teenager in high school, Bo formed his first group, The
Langley Avenue Jive Cats, and after he graduated he created another
band who began playing the blues in Chicago night clubs, supplementing
his meager guitarist income with jobs as a construction worker and a
light-heavyweight boxer. It was as a boxer that he first began to use
the name Bo Diddley.
In 1955 he auditioned for Checker Records (a subsidiary of Chess)
and had his first single - also called Bo Diddley - released
the same year. Bo brought an exciting new sound to records - a
pulsating jungle beat, heavy bass and the incessant shuffling of
maracas. The sound became the Bo Diddley trademark, and was immortalized
much later by The Rolling Stones
on Not Fade Away.
Diddley also pioneered the use of a totally electric sound on records.
He was noted for his array of weird and wonderful guitars, which were
self-designed and often self-made. His favorites were a bright red
oblong-shaped axe, one covered entirely in fur, and another covered in
bright purple carpet.
 Although
he only amassed three minor hit records - Say Man, Pretty Thing
and Hey, Good Looking, Bo Diddley was responsible for writing
many R&B classics including Roadrunner, I'm A Man, Who Do You Love?
and You Can't Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover. They
were all covered by major recording artists during the 1960's and
1970's.
Bo Diddley's performing career was given a tremendous boost in 1972
when he appeared in Richard Nader's rock & roll revival show and was
later featured in the movie Let The Good Times Roll. In 1976 he
recorded a new album, Twentieth Anniversary of Rock for RCA,
featuring such celebrated colleagues as Joe
Cocker, Billy Joel and
Keith Moon of The Who. Two years later he undertook a successful
British tour with another legendary rock & roller from the 1950s,
Carl Perkins.
Bo Diddley was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. In 2005, Bo
celebrated his 50th anniversary in music with successful tours of
Australia, Europe and North America. He performed a number of shows
around the US in 2005 and 2006 and now lives in the small farming town
of Archer, Florida.
TRIVIA NOTE
Bo Diddley served for two and a half years as Deputy Sheriff in
the Valencia County Citizens' Patrol while continuing his musical
career. During that time he personally purchased and donated three
highway patrol pursuit cars.
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