A dark cloud hangs over the world of music as one of it’s main pioneering icons, Bo Diddley, died of heart failure recently in his home in Archer, Florida.

It has been a very long road since Ellas Bates decided to change his name to “Bo Diddley” (which was the name given to him by his childhood friends) and started his career as a professional musician. In 1955 he first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show–one year before Elvis “introduced” rock and roll–and performed his debut single “Bo Diddley.” After releasing record after record, most notably his first crack at songwriting “Love is Strange” for Mickey and Sylvia, his own and unique “Say Man” where he collaborated with maracas player Jerome Green, as well eleven other albums released between 1958 to 1963, Bo Diddley became a legend and secured his place in rock history together with his trademark rectangular guitar.

Numerous artists, from almost every era of rock and roll have turned to the music of Bo Diddley for inspiration. Artists like Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, Greatful Dead and The Clash have played, enjoyed, and have become influenced with his music one way or another.

Bo Diddley lived in a time when racial tensions were considered taboo, and segregation was accepted. It was because of these times why his defiant spirit was born in him, and subsequently made it’s way to his music. He wasn’t like any other “black man” in his time. He fought the power of oppression with his songs and performances and introduced a sensuality not yet attributed to rock and roll at the time. He was “unapologetic ” like the others who shied away from the issues of racism.

However, even much later his career Bo Diddley still wasn’t paid the royalties due to him, after decades of being a recording artist. He may have been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy’s, peformed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, and sold millions of albums but apparently he never made half of what he was supposed to make in the first place. This led him to have such a bitter heart towards record executives, saying “A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun.”

However, Bo Diddley never stopped making music that delighted his fans until 1997, after a long 42 year career. He still did performances until his mild stroke in May 2007. Unfortunately, after that he suffered a heart attack in August and returned to his home Florida where he spent the last of his days.

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