Bo Diddley case study;
Guitarist Bo Diddley was a key influence during the blues to rock and roll transition, influencing artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis to name a few. Born in the USA in 1928, he grew up in Mississippi but was adopted by his mothers cousin, who moved to south Chicago in 1934. In church Bo studied the violin and trombone. It is unclear as to the exact origin of his stage name but when broken down 'Bo' could be a reference to the home made, single string instrument "Diddley bow" and despite sharing the 'Diddley', its thought that it was referring to the phrase 'diddly squat' being slag for having nothing (this name could also emphasise the lack of strings on the diddley bow)
One reason that Diddley stands out, besides his obvious talent, comes from a bizarre incident when he was performing a song, Bo was animated and dancing around, resulting in his guitar injuring his groin. Prior to this, he made changes so he could have a smaller guitar. the 'cigar box guitar' (pictured) would have looked something like the image, but would often, but not always, be played sitting down and it was this change that would be a game changer.
The cigar box was played it like it was a drum kit, this playing style has actually resulted in drummers being able to replicate what he was doing on an actual drum kit, which later would be named 'The Bo Diddley beat'. His playing style was used in many songs, the most recent example would be "black horse and the cherry tree" performed by KT Tunstall recorded in 2005, but goes as far back as the 1940's, where the playing style was discovered.
A more specific artist influenced by Diddley would be the foo fighters frontman Dave Grohl. Who in his nirvana days, was a drumming icon, inspiring many himself, but after the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain and the dissolving of Nirvana, Grohl moved onto the guitar, while there are no clear links between the two artists, there's no doubt that he plays the guitar with a drummers mind.
Examples of the 'Bo Diddley beat';
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jrIK7YB0tE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVJBrQ1gsLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQmDUEv939A - black horse and the cherry tree
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