Rock ‘n Roll Legend Bo Diddley Dies at 79

June 2, 2008 - 5:00 pm By COED Staff

bo_diddley-773864.jpg

Most of you are probably too young to remember who this guy is (hell, I’m too young to remember), or why you should care. But Bo Diddley’s signature beat helped father an entire genre of music, and can be found in the influences of everyone, from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Diddley began his musical career playing the guitar on the windy Chicago streets, before being discovered by Chess Records. But after his break, Diddley kept his music based in a simple premise. When asked about good songwriting, Diddley said you should always write “[a] story with some funny lyrics, or some serious lyrics, or some love-type lyrics. But you gotta think in terms of what people’s lives is based on.”

Check out video of Bo Diddley after the jump! (more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,