Bo diddley had an unconventional sound compared to other American pop music of the _

50s

Explanation:

Bo Diddley was one of the pioneers of rock'n'roll and he had a great career during the 50s.

In the 50s, popular music still had complex melodies, clear texts and used more traditional instruments. Bo Diddley broke the norms of the time by using a different instrument, for example heavily relying on the electric guitar, having more simple melodies, but being very energetic and upbeat. He introduced his unique rhythm of three strokes/rest/two strokes that were later often used in rock’n’roll by various famous artists. Bo Diddley was also one of the first at the time to make a brand out of himself in his self-titled song. This was rather distinctive from all other artists at the time who presented themselves often purely as musicians selling the art, and not promoting their image. This idea was later adopted in popular music and is often used in hip hop.