Hundreds of people sang, clapped, rocked and rolled Saturday evening in memory of Bo Diddley, the legendary singer, songwriter and guitarist who died last week in Archer.
The ceremony, which concluded a day devoted to the musician, was attended by family, friends and fans of Diddley.
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A slideshow shown in East Gainesville's Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center chronicled some of Diddley's achievements and family history. Groups of musicians, many who had played with Diddley, performed tributes to the man, whose real name was Ellas McDaniel.
Eric Burdon, lead singer of the rock band The Animals, began the musical part of the ceremony with a pair of maracas in hand and Diddley's daughter, Evelyn Kelly, singing occasionally at his side.
Burdon said he credits Diddley with understanding the power of one constant, thundering rhythm.
"That's what gets through to people," Burdon said. "Rock 'n' roll should be like a Bo Diddley punch in the face." That "punch" refers to Diddley's signature "Bo Diddley Beat," a driving five-part rhythm that is heard in numerous rock hits.
Burdon said Diddley helped create the base for rhythm and blues and modern-day rap music.
"This music emerged right out of this area," Burdon said about the town in which Diddley chose to spend the last years of his life.
Diddley's influence on music as well as the Gainesville area was memorialized all day Saturday, beginning with a parade and festival in Archer that was renamed Yulee Diddley Day.
Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan revealed plans at the funeral to rename the Downtown Community Plaza in honor of the artist who performed there countless times.
Diddley was known for showing up to play at local bars like Market Street Pub, said Gainesville resident Todd Webster.
"It's real cool that such a guy was a member of our own community," said Webster, who once had a short conversation with the rock legend after running into him at the Lowe's Home Improvement store.
Deborah Massie, a musician in the local band the Folklorries, attended the ceremony because she said she feels a strong connection to Diddley's music.
"He once let my friend and I use his recording studio," Massie said. "He just opened his heart up to everyone, and that's why so many people are here tonight."
