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| Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies Rock guitar pioneer Bo Diddley died Monday aged 79 from heart failure in Florida, according to an official announcement. His greatest hits included tracks like You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover, Who Do You Love?, And Before You Accuse Me. But his greatest contribution was was his signature 5/4 rhythm that laid the foundation for much of the blues-influence rock music of the 1960's and 1970's. "This distinctive, African-based 5/4 rhythm pattern (which goes bomp-ba-bomp-bomp bomp-bomp) was picked up from Diddley by other artists and has been a distinctive and recurring element in rock 'n' roll through the decades, " said the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, which inducted the Mississippi-born bluesman in 1987. Diddley was a contemporary of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley, and claimed to be the musical inspiration for the term rock 'n' roll, first coined by DJ Alan Freed, who according to Diddley introduced him saying, "Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat." Diddley had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after he was hit with a stroke that affected his ability to speak. Until he suffered the stroke, he continued to tour and record, complaining that all the honours he received had "put no figures on my checkbook." write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |