Farewell to the Originator

The music world is noticeably less cool today. Ellas "Bo Diddley" McDaniel, one of the originators of rockabilly and rock and roll, is dead at 79. His music was covered or "adapted" by everybody from Buddy Holly and The Rolling Stones to U2 and The White Stripes. The energy produced by his signature rhythm in this 40-year-old video (using only two chords!) could steamroll over the entire current generation of waif-rockers.



Even though he got lots of mileage off his Bo Diddley Beat, he was also an innovator in hiring women musicians for his band. Above, "The Duchess" plays rhythm guitar in an evening gown. Bo certainly got a lot more lip service than money over the years, as white artists sold more copies of his songs and many neglected to give him credit. At least when George Thorogood ripped off Bo's "I'm a Man" and called it "Bad to the Bone," he hired Bo to star in his video. And the Beat wasn't used in all his songs. In fact, I'm a big fan of the New York Dolls' cover of his "Pills," for which they did give him credit. Rest in Peace, Ellas.