Bo Diddley, the pioneering rock ’n’ roller responsible for classics like “Who Do You Love” and “I’m a Man,” died of heart failure today in his Florida home, Reuters reports. He was 79.
“One of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll has left the building he helped construct,” read a statement his management agency released.
In a career spanning more than five decades, Diddley composed a substantial body of rock classics, including "Who Do You Love," "Bo Diddley," "Bo Diddley’s a Gunslinger," "Before You Accuse Me," "Mona," "I’m a Man" and "Pretty Thing."
He cranked them out on a signature rectangular guitar, setting many of them to rumba-like rhythm of his "Bo Diddley beat" that gave rock ‘n’ roll a powerful rhythmic foundation.
Along with such contemporaries as Chuck Berry and Little Richard, he was among a pioneering group of black recording artists who crossed the American racial divide with music that appealed to white audiences and was emulated by white performers.
Although Diddley recorded relatively few chart-topping hits, his seminal role in the formative years of rock music was recognized by his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and with a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1998.
