Fourteen Reasons Why Diddley Was Cool

Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley died on Monday morning from heart failure at age 79 at his home in Archer, Fla. Rather than dwell on the passing of this man, we here at ChartAttack want to celebrate the highlights of his life. Without further ado, here are 14 reasons why Bo Diddley was cool:

1. He was a Golden Gloves boxer as a teenager.
2. He was nicknamed "The Originator" and had the "Bo Diddley beat" named after him.
3. "Hey Bo Diddley," "Who Do You Love?," "I'm A Man," "Pills"… enough said.
4. Who else do you know who played a rectangular guitar?
5. He pissed off host Ed Sullivan when he appeared on his popular variety television show in 1955 and performed "Hey Bo Diddley" instead of covering Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons."
6. He was popular with white audiences when segregation was still prevalent in the U.S. in the '50s.
7. He was one of the first musicians to have women in his band and to set up a home recording studio.
8. His sound influenced far too many musicians to mention here. The same goes for the multitude of awards and honours he received.
9. Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins might not have had the long career he's enjoyed without the Diddley covers that rank among his most enduringly popular songs.
10. While living in Los Lunas, New Mexico in the '70s, he was a deputy sheriff and personally purchased three highway patrol cars for the local police department.
11. The Clash requested him as the opening act for their first U.S. tour.
12. He played a pawnbroker in the 1983 Eddie Murphy/Dan Aykroyd comedy, Trading Places.
13. He appeared in a 2003 episode of the sitcom According To Jim that was named after him. But that still doesn't make Jim Belushi cool.
14. He continued to perform until he suffered a major stroke during a concert last May.