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Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley, whose hits include such timeless classics as "Who Do You Love," and "Before You Accuse Me," died Monday of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida. He was 79.
In May 2007, Diddley suffered a stroke during a concert in Iowa and was hospitalized in Omaha, Nebraska. In August 2007 he had a heart attack in Florida.
More than 35 of his family members were at his home when he died at about 1:45 a.m. His passing was not unexpected, according to Diddley's grandson Garry Mitchell.
"There was a gospel song that was sang and he said 'wow' with a thumbs up," Mitchell told Reuters, when asked to describe the scene at Diddley's deathbed. "The song was 'Walk Around Heaven' and in his last words he stated that he was going to heaven."
Diddley's career in rock-n-roll spanned more than five decades and was distinguished by his special rumba-like rhythm, which came to be known as the "Bo Diddley beat."
Toting a signature rectangle guitar, Diddley and contemporaries Chuck Berry and Little Richard were 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.
The artist was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and collected a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1998.
Born Ellas Bates in 1928 in McComb, Mississippi, he took the last name McDaniel from his adoptive mother, and 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.
His agency said public and private services are planned for this weekend.
