Bo Diddley RIP

Of all the tributes being rained on Bo Diddley now that he no longer walks among us, it's worth remembering that for a musician, the best tribute is always influence. And Bo had that in bucketfuls.

Years ago there was a hit single called "Hooked on Classics," which strung together snippets of various tunes from the classical repertoire. This record was followed by similar ones, like "Hooked on Gershwin." So I thought somebody should release "Hooked on Diddley," a medley stringing together as many songs as possible that used the Bo Diddley beat. Here's a list of many, but not all, of the songs released in the last fifty years that used the Bo Diddley beat.

It's worth pointing out that Bo did not invent that beat, as it was part of the African-American musical tradition before he came along. But he became so closely identified with it that it now commonly bears his name.