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Chuck Berry was born Charles Edward Berry on 18 October
1926 in St. Louis, Missouri.
He is an American guitarist, singer and composer. and
was the first member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000.
While there is debate about who recorded the first rock
and roll record, there is little doubt that Chuck Berry's
early recordings, including "Maybellene" (1955) were
profoundly important: A full synthesis of the rock and
roll form, combining blues and country music with teenaged
lyrics about girls and cars sung with impeccable diction,
smoking electric guitar solos and an energetic duckwalking
stage personality.
Most of his famous recordings were on Chess Records
with pianist Johnnie Johnson from Berry's own band and
legendary record producer Willie Dixon on bass, Fred
Below on drums and Berry's guitar, arguably the epitome
of an early rock and roll band. Producer Leonard Chess
recalled laconically: I told Chuck to give it a bigger
beat. History the rest, you know? The kids wanted the
big beat, cars, and young love. It was a trend and we
jumped on it.
He recorded more than thirty Top Ten records and his
songs have been covered by hundreds of blues, country,
and rock and roll performers. The Rolling Stones literally
founded their style on Berry. When Keith Richards inducted
Chuck into the Hall of Fame, he said, "It's hard for
me to induct Chuck Berry, because I lifted every lick
he ever played!" Chuck toured for many years carrying
only his Gibson guitar, confident that he could hire
a band that already knew his music no matter where he
went. Among the many bandleaders performing this backup
role were Bruce Springsteen and Steve Miller. Springsteen
backed Chuck again when he appeared at the Concert for
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
Many of his hits are among the leading rock and roll
anthems: "Johnny B. Goode", the autobiographical saga
of a country boy who could "play a guitar just like
ringing a bell", was chosen as one of the greatest achievements
of humanity for the Voyager I collection of artifacts.
The song was also prominently featured in the movie
Back to the Future. "Rock and Roll Music", one of the
first tunes recorded by The Beatles "Sweet Little Sixteen",
with new lyrics it became a hit for the Beach Boys as
"Surfin' USA". "Roll Over Beethoven", a cheeky announcement
if ever there was one. "School Days", whose chorus,
"Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll", was chosen as the title
of a documentary concert film organized by Keith Richards
of the Rolling Stones as his tribute to Chuck, who appears
in the film with many others. "Let It Rock", fantasia
of gambling railroad workers that lives up to the title,
written under the pseudonym E. Anderson.
Other hits, many of them novelty narratives, include:
"Maybellene" -- car, girl, rival, jealousy -- based
on the country tune, "Ida Red", performed originally
by Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys. "Too Much Monkey
Business", teenaged attitudes, predecessor to rap, "Same
thing every day, gettin' up, goin' to school, no need
of me complaining, my objection's overruled". "Brown-eyed
Handsome Man", adult attitudes, "arrested on charges
of unemployment" "Back in the USA", which inspired The
Beatles' "Back in the USSR". "Nadine", the elusiveness
of identity, strong lyrics, rhyming "coffee-colored
Cadillac" with "campaign shouting like a Southern diplomat"
"Memphis", unique beat, sweet story. Lonnie Mack and
Johnny Rivers both built entire careers starting with
this song. Among his blues tributes: "Confessing the
Blues", signature tune of the famed Kansas City, Missouri
jazz band of Jay McShann "Merry Christmas, Baby", originally
by Charles Brown "Things I Used to Do", by Louisiana's
Guitar Slim.
Chuck's only number one record came late in his career,
the salacious "My Ding-a-Ling", an old New Orleans novely
that he had been singing for years and fortuitously
included on a live recording in London in 1970. In the
late 1980s, Berry owned a restaurant in Wentzville,
Missouri, called The Southern Air. Berry also owns an
estate in Wentzville called Berry Park. For many years,
Berry hosted rock concerts throughout the summer at
Berry Park. He eventually closed the estate to the public
due to the riotous behavior of many guests.
Berry continues to perform regularly, playing both throughout
the United States and overseas. He performs one Wednesday
each month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant and bar located
in the Delmar Loop neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri.
Chuck Berry has also been in conflict with the law on
a couple of occasions !
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