Alongside Chuck Berry, Diddley is recognized as one of rock's most influential guitarists, expanding the instrument's vocabulary with a crunching, tremolo-laden sound. He played a rectangular "cigar box" guitar of his own design, an instantly recognizable visual counterpart to the distinctive chank-a-chank, a-chank, a-chank-chank rhythm that bore his name and provided the backbeat for his own songs including "Bo Diddley," "Mona" and "Who Do You Love."
From 1960:
Diddley, born Otha Ellas Bates and later changed to Ellas B. McDaniel, was also known for his unique guitar, which he designed himself.
His career gradually declined with the arrival of the British bands in the 1960s, and he became a fixture on the nostalgia circuit.
Diddley was married four times (the last one in 1992), had four children, 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren. He started out young, marrying for the first time at 18, to have that many surviving generations (four) at such a relatively young age.
A local lodge owner fondly remembers the late musician. Diddley played in the Reno/Tahoe area a number of times over the years.
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