Fond Farewells
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008
Neal Preston / CorbisFew people can say they wrote a No. 1 song. Even fewer can say they popularized a rhythm. With his 1955 debut, "Bo Diddley," he did both, introducing the "hambone" beat — bum-bum-bum, bum bum — that's powered everything from Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" to U2's "Desire." Over his 50-year career, he kept on innovating, creating the baaaad-man persona and integrating female musicians into his band at a time when such a thing was unheard of. And if the critics never quite gave him his due, his fellow musicians did. "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul," Mos Def rapped. "Bo Diddley is rock 'n' roll."
—Josh Tyrangiel
See pictures of the Civil Rights movement from Emmett Till to Barack Obama.
Fond Farewells: Full List
- William F. Buckley, 1925-2008
- George Carlin, 1937-2008
- Cyd Charisse, 1921-2008
- Arthur C. Clarke, 1917-2008
- Michael Crichton, 1942-2008
- Mahmoud Darwish, 1942-2008
- Michael DeBakey, 1908-2008
Adrian Kantrowitz, 1918-2008 - Anne d'Harnoncourt, 1943-2008
- Bo Diddley, 1928-2008
- Mark Felt, 1913-2008
- Bobby Fischer, 1943-2008
- Gary Gygax, 1938-2008
- Jörg Haider, 1950-2008
- Grace Hartigan, 1922-2008
- Isaac Hayes, 1942-2008
- Jesse Helms, 1921-2008
- Charlton Heston, 1923-2008
- Edmund Hillary, 1919-2008
- Eartha Kitt, 1927-2008
- Heath Ledger, 1979-2008
- Sherman Lee, 1918-2008
- Mildred Loving, 1939-2008
- Bernie Mac, 1957-2008
- Miriam Makeba, 1932-2008
- Jim McKay, 1921-2008
- Anthony Minghella, 1954-2008
- Imad Mughniyah, 1962-2008
- Paul Newman, 1925-2008
- Odetta, 1930-2008
- Bettie Page, 1923-2008
- Randy Pausch, 1960-2008
- Harold Pinter, 1930-2008
- Suzanne Pleshette, 1937-2008
- Sydney Pollack, 1934-2008
- Dith Pran, 1942-2008
- Robert Rauschenberg, 1925-2008
- Tim Russert, 1950-2008
- Yves Saint Laurent, 1936-2008
- Tony Snow, 1955-2008
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008
- Suharto, 1921-2008
- Studs Terkel, 1912-2008
- Jørn Utzon, 1918-2008
- David Foster Wallace, 1962-2008
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1918-2008
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Year in Review 2008
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