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Bo Diddley in Prague, April 2005. Photo by Aconcagua.
Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), better known as Bo Diddley, was an African-American Blues and Rock singer. He was mainly prominent in the 1950s.
Copied from "Music of Note:" He was known as "the Originator" for being one of the first artists to start playing Rock & Roll. The Beatles cited him as a favorite, and Hendrix and Clapton were directly inspired by him. His most famous contribution was the "Bo Diddley Beat" that rock bands the world over still use.
He famously made his own, distinctively rectangular, electric guitars. They have a distinctive, almost ukelele-like tone color, easily recognizable and closely associated with Bo Diddley Beat-type music.
He also served for some time as a deputy Sheriff.
According to the Other Wiki, Bo Diddley released 27 studio albums, six live albums, 25 compilation albums, and 37 singles.
His charted singles (table copied from Wikipedia):
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | UK Singles Chart | ||
| 1955 | "Bo Diddley" / "I'm a Man" |
- | 1 | - |
| "Diddley Daddy" | - | 11 | - | |
| 1956 | "Pretty Thing" | - | 4 | 34 (in 1963) |
| 1958 | "I'm Sorry" | - | 17 | - |
| "Crackin Up" | 62 | 14 | - | |
| "Say Man" | 20 | 3 | - | |
| "Say Man, Back Again" | - | 23 | - | |
| 1960 | "Road Runner" | 75 | 20 | - |
| 1962 | "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" | 48 | 21 | - |
| 1965 | "Hey Good Lookin'" | - | - | 39 |
| 1967 | "Ooh Baby" | 88 | 17 | - |