Bo Diddley, one of the greatest icons in the history of American music, died today at the age of 79 due to complications from the stroke he suffered last August

Bo's aggressively african, riff-based, drum-drenched, stylized boasting sound blew the doors off American radio right out of the box in 1955, with his first and greatest hit, the self-titled "Bo Diddley." Take a listen to that 2 minutes and 46 seconds of pure, propulsive, tremelo-saturated, echoey, one-chord bliss, with its surreal nursery-rhyme toasting and you will hear the next 40 years of popular music--from Buddy Holly to the Stones to James Brown to Jay-Z.

The Jukebox Boogaloo will be on vacation for the next two weeks, so we will not get to a proper tribute show until our return. Stay tuned here for more details.

Update:  In the meantime, please enjoy this vintage YouTube clip of Bo at the peak of his power.

Update II:  More great Bo clips here,  here, here,
here.