Posted by gingerlynn on Jun 02, 2008
Bo Diddley, a man who re-shaped our idea of popular music with his invention of "Rock n' Roll," died today at age 79. The guitar great will be
dearly missed . Although the title "father of rock n' roll" was often credited to others, perhaps with his passing popular culture will finally acknowledge Diddley as the true inventor of the genre, with his signature rock beat (three strokes/rest/two strokes) which defined rock n' roll. He was a hero to everyone from
The Beatles to
The Stones to
The Clash. Sadly we won't be able to see his famously wild performances anymore (except via youtube), but his vision of re-worked blues, southern gospel, and R&B will continue to influence musicians from all genres. Listen to
Kirk Douglas,
The Roots' guitar player, reminisce about Bo Diddley after the click.
