The world of music pays tribute to Bo Diddley

"Listening to Bo Diddley, you could convince yourself that the only thing you need to create great rock 'n' roll is a tremolo guitar, a killer beat and one and a half chords. Many tried and some have failed, but nobody did it like Diddley."

Elvis Costello in USA Today

"[Bo Diddley's] voice and relentless, glorious anthems echo down through my years. This royal shape shifter continues to influence four generations of musicians on a daily basis"

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Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant on soundgenerator.com

"Bo's one of the guys who invented rock 'n' roll. He took two cultures that existed in separate forms -- country and western and the kind of blues that used to be known as 'race music' -- and put them together. His beat was a jungle beat. That's what he called it."

Eric Burdon, lead singer of the Animals, in the Los Angeles Times

"It's a good day because I've walked on the planet at the same time as Bo Diddley. The simplistic and humorous artistry that accompanied this creation we all know as the Bo Diddley beat is a resounding testament to someone who knew how to touch us in a rock 'n' roll way."

Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top's guitarist, in USA Today

"He was a wonderful, original musician who was an enormous force in music and was a big influence on the Rolling Stones. He was very generous to us in our early years and we learned a lot from him. We will never see his likes again."

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, in the Los Angeles Times

He's a huge hero of mine and the fact that he knew who I was was a huge compliment. Bo Diddley created a myth that was uniquely his own. An entire rhythm is owed to just one guy and that's pretty rare."

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash on NME.com

"Bo Diddley was a music pioneer and a legend with a unique style. We always had a good time when we played together, but his legacy will live on forever."

B.B. King in the Los Angeles Times

"One of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll has left the building he helped construct,"

Statement announcing his death, from his management agency, Talent Consultants International, on Reuters

"There was a gospel song that was sang and he said 'wow' with a thumbs up. The song was 'Walk Around Heaven' and in his last words he stated that he was going to heaven."

Garry Mitchell, a grandson of Diddley and one of more than 35 family members at the musician's home when he died, on Reuters