News

Bo Diddley dies at seventy-nine

2:51 p.m. · June 2, 2008 · by Mike Burr

Guitar legend Bo Diddley died this morning from heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida. Diddley had suffered a stroke and a heart attack in the last year, and hadn’t fully recovered from the dual setbacks. While Diddley, born Ellas Otha Bates McDaniel on Dec. 30, 1928, recorded a string of classic tunes in the mid-fifties such as “Road Runner,” “Who Do You Love?,” and “Mona” and was an important early influence to both Buddy Holly and the Rolling Stones, he is perhaps most recognizable to younger music fans for his appearance in the “Bo Knows” series of ads for Nike. Although Diddley toured regularly into his late seventies, he rarely recorded in the last thirty years, save for guest appearances on various rock and R&B records. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. [Billboard]