Bo Didley
| Bo Diddley | |
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Bo Diddley performing in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ellas Otha Bates (as child, changed to Ellas McDaniel) |
| Also known as | The Originator |
| Born |
December 30, 1928 McComb, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 2008 (aged 79) Archer, Florida |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1943–2006 |
| Labels | |
| Website | BoDiddley.com |
| Notable instruments | |
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Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates, December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known as Bo Diddley, was an American R&B singer, guitarist, songwriter and music producer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll, and influenced artists including Elvis Presley,Buddy Holly, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, the Who, Jimi Hendrix and Parliament-Funkadelic.
His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his distinctive rectangular guitar.
Born in McComb, Mississippi, as Ellas Otha Bates, he was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin, Gussie McDaniel, whose surname he assumed. In 1934, the McDaniel family moved to the South Side of Chicago, where he dropped the Otha and became Ellas McDaniel. He was an active member of Chicago's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he studied the trombone and the violin, becoming so proficient on the violin that the musical director invited him to join the orchestra. He performed until he was 18. However, he was more interested in the pulsating, rhythmic music he heard at a local Pentecostal church and took up the guitar.
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