Gretsch G5810

Rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley, who influenced just about every first and second generation rock and roll musician, has passed away. "Watching Bo Diddley (in 1963) was university for me," said Keith Richards in a recent interview.

Gretsch G5810 is the model of electric guitar designed by Gretsch and Bo Diddley in 1958. It became Bo Diddley's signature instrument.

From a newspaper obituary:

He never lost a feeling of resentment that his signature rhythm couldn't be copyrighted and that record royalties went unpaid. "I am owed, and I never got paid," he told Associated Press in 1999. "A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun."