SALUTING THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF THE LATE BO DIDDLEY -- (House of Representatives - June 09, 2008) (Part 3/4)

Bo Diddley had several other songs reach the top of the charts. He became as well known as any recording artist in America. But he contributed so much more than that, and it would be hard to overstate his importance to the music world.

He quite literally played to his own beat, actually called the "Bo Diddley beat." And to this day, that beat is a rock and roll staple. You hear it in the music of Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and countless others.

But Bo Diddley was no mere one-beat wonder. He introduced a rich complexity of driving rhythms and cross-rhythms, building on African-American traditions from the Cuban clave, to the hambone of the Chicago street, to the shout of the church.

He not only laid the cornerstone for rock and roll, he also laid the groundwork for rap music and, by mixing in elements of classical violin technique, also for funk. He was also a pioneer in the use of reverb, tremolo, sustain, distortion and feedback, all essential ingredients in heavy metal and psychedelic rock.

To help round out the Bo Diddley beat with what he called "that freight train sound," he persuaded Jerome Green to set aside the tuba and take up the maracas and added Billy Boy Arnold on the harmonica.

His band may also have been the first to feature a woman on guitar, first Peggy Jones, then known on stage as "Lady Bo," in the late 1950s, and then when she left, Norma Jean Wofford, a.k.a. "the Duchess." He also invented two well-known guitar designs, the square guitar, and the Flying V. And he may have been the first to build his own home recording studio, right here in Washington, DC.

As the preeminent rock historian Robert Palmer observed a few years ago, and I quote, "If the musical copyright laws of the United States more accurately reflected the way American vernacular music is created and disseminated, Bo Diddley would be a wealthy man today."

But Bo Diddley never did become a wealthy man. Despite all his hard work and his invaluable cultural contributions, he had to stay on the road right up until the time a stroke forced him to retire last year at age 78. The fact that he reaped so little from all that he had sowed helped spur him in later years to become a tireless advocate for educating musicians on their rights. As he explained in a 2005 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, "I tell musicians "Don't trust nobody but your mama."" Good advice for many of us.

Mick Jagger spoke for many when he said last week that Bo Diddley was "a wonderful, original musician who was very generous to the Rolling Stones in our early years." Although Bo Diddley himself is now gone, he has left an indelible mark on American music. And this resolution is before us today to honor that uniquely American contribution to music, rock and roll.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution honoring Bo Diddley, the great guitar player and rock and roll musician.

He was born Ellas Otha Bates, but he came to be known by the nickname Bo Diddley. It came to be an ironic nickname indeed, and refers to "nothing at all," as in, "he ain't bo diddly," or in my neighborhood, "you don't know bo diddly."

Well, far from becoming nothing at all, Bo Diddley started playing in Chicago's South Side and rose to become one of the greatest rock and roll musicians of all time. His song "Bo Diddley" became a number one rhythm and blues hit as far back as 1955. Through songs such as "Who Do You Love," he established the now famous Bo Diddley beat, a rumba like sound that mimics the sounds made by street musicians who would pat beats to songs by slapping their arms, legs, chest and cheeks.

Bo Diddley headlined above the Rolling Stones. He appeared with the Clash and the Grateful Dead and wrote many crossover hits that appealed to music lovers everywhere. And he was one of the first major male musicians to include a woman in his band.

He was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1996, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and in 1998 from the Grammy. Rolling Stone magazine listed him at Number 20 on their list of the Greatest Artists of All Time.

When Bo Diddley passed away on June 2 at the age of 79, he was surrounded by his friends and family, who sang the gospel song "Walk Around Heaven."