Bo Diddley Biography, Photos and Posters

Bo Diddley

Biography

Born: December 30, 1928
City and Country of Origin: McComb, Mississippi
Music Training: violin lessons as a child
Awards: 1986 inducted into the Washington Area Music Association's Hall of Fame; 1987 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; 1998 Grammy for Lifetime Achievment;
Top Recordings: "Bo Diddley," "Hey Bo Diddley," "Pretty Thing," "Say Man," "You Can't Judge a Book By the Cover," I'm A Man," "Who Do You Love?"
Bo Diddley Biography: Ellas Otha Bates was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin, Gussie McDaniel, whose surname he assumed, becoming Ellas McDaniel. When he was 7 the family moved to Chicago, IL. Although he studied violin he was inspired by guitar legend John Lee Hooker. He pursued his music career on the street corners of Chicago while working as a mechanic and carpenter.

He landed a spot at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side, with a repertoire influenced by Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters, in 1951. It was around that time that he adopted the stage name Bo Diddley which stems from souther black sland meaning "nothing at all."

In 1954, he made he teamed with with harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold, drummer Clifton James and bass player Roosevelt Jackson, and recorded demos of "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley". The record was released in March of 1955 with "Bo Diddley" becoming a #1 R&B hit.

Diddley is best remembered for his rhumba-like "hambone" beat which was the staock and trade of street performers who kept the beat by slapping their palms against their thighs and chest while reciting rhymes. Although he is credited with the Bo Diddley beat, it must be noted that 3 years earlier Red Saunders' Orchestra and The Hambone Kids cut the record "Hambone."

Many of Diddley's recordings are notable for having no chord changes, with the rhythym creating the excitement in the music and not the tension created by chord changes. He is also remembered for his distinctive styled square Gretsch guitar, nicknamed "The Twang Machine, which is currently distributed by Fender.

On November 20, 1955, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show only to infuriate the host. "I did two songs and he got mad," Bo Diddley later recalled. "Ed Sullivan said that I was one of the first colored boys to ever double-cross him. Sullivan had asked him to play Tennessee Ernie Ford's hit single "Sixteen Tons," and not Bo Diddley. As a result he was banned from further appearances on the show. Between 1958 and 1963, Checker Records released 11 full-length albums by Bo Diddley. Although Bo Diddley was a breakthrough crossover artist with white audiences, appearing on the Alan Freed concerts, for example, he rarely tailored his compositions to teenage concerns.

In 1963 he appeared with the Everly Brothers and Little Richard in a UK concert tour. Also appearing on the same bill were a little known group The Rolling Stones. Besides his own music he also penned the Mickey and Sylvia hit "Love Is Strange."

In the late 1980's he teamed with Bo Jackson in the Nike infamous Bo Knows commericals. Saying his one line "Bo you don't know Diddley!"

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #20 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Diddley celebrated his 50th year in music, in 2005, with successful tours of Australia and Europe as well as coast to coast appearances in the United States.

Diddley continued performing until 2007 when he was admitted to intensive care in Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, following a stroke during a concert at Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 13. On June 2, 2008, Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida. He was 79 years of age. Died: June 2, 2008

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