US:Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley, who banged out hit songs powered by the relentless "Bo Diddley beat" that influenced rockers from Buddy Holly to U2, died yesterday at the age of 79.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida, said his management agency, Talent Consultants International.
"One of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll has left the building he helped construct," it said.
Diddley suffered a stroke during a concert in Iowa in May 2007 and was hospitalised in Omaha, Nebraska. In August 2007, he had a heart attack in Florida.
In a career spanning more than five decades, Diddley composed a substantial body of rock classics, including Who Do You Love, Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley's a Gunslinger, Before You Accuse Me, Mona, I'm a Manand Pretty Thing. He cranked them out on a signature rectangular guitar, setting many of them to the rumba-like rhythm of his "Bo Diddley beat" that gave rock 'n' roll a powerful rhythmic foundation.
Along with such contemporaries as Chuck Berry and Little Richard, he was among a pioneering group of black recording artists who crossed the American racial divide with music that appealed to white audiences and was emulated by white performers.
Although Diddley recorded relatively few chart-topping hits, his seminal role in the formative years of rock music was recognised by his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and with a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1998.
Born Ellas Bates in 1928 in McComb, Mississippi, he played classical violin as a boy.
He was given the nickname Bo Diddley as a teenager after moving to Chicago, where he started playing music on street corners in the 1940s. Inspired by blues musician John Lee Hooker's classic Boogie Chillen, Diddley used his violin skills to craft a guitar sound that laid the basis for the funk music of the 1960s. He found fame in the mid-1950s with his signature song Bo Diddley. The song stood out with its tremolo guitar, maracas and trademark beat.
Diddley's unique guitar playing and rhythm influenced generations of rockers from Elvis Presley to Bon Jovi. Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi made guest appearances on his records, and Diddley played with the likes of The Clash and The Grateful Dead.
Reuters