John Lennon once said, “If you were going to give rock & roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.” The rock pioneer’s remarkable influence on popular music cannot be overstated, and we want to wish a very happy birthday to Mr. Berry, who turns 84 years old today.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Charles Edward Anderson Berry grew up in a large family, a good student with early interests in poetry and blues music. After winning a high school talent show and taking guitar lessons from the neighborhood barber, Berry began performing in the East St. Louis clubs, making a name for himself by playing blues, r&b, and white country music. He formed The Chuck Berry Trio and took up residency at the Cosmopolitan Club in 1954, becoming one of the top acts in town.
Interested in pursuing a record contract, Berry traveled to Chicago to meet his hero, Muddy Waters. The blues icon recommended Berry visit Chess Records president Leonard Chess, who immediately took a liking to a demo of Berry’s named “Ida Red”. A recording session in May 1955 led to “Ida Red” becoming “Maybellene”, Chuck Berry’s first and signature tune. Legendary New York DJ Alan Freed helped make the song a Top 20 hit (and received co-writing credit on the tune for his efforts).
Over the next few years, Berry released a stunning string of now-standard rock classics, including “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Little Queenie”, and “Johnny B. Goode”. His songs were traditional 12 bar blues arrangements with a 24 bar guitar solo, the pattern every early rock band would quickly follow. His live shows were always memorable, often including his signature “duck walk” move.
Berry appeared in numerous film and television specials during the late ’50s. He wisely invested in local real estate, opening The Club Bandstand in 1958. When police discovered one of the club’s hat check girls doubling as a prostitute, Berry went to federal prison for two years. Upon his release, he found himself in the center of the British Invasion and a renewed interest in his music. His second wave of hits included “No Particular Place To Go” and “You Never Can Tell”, used memorably in Pulp Fiction.
Berry toured consistently throughout the ’60s and ’70s, returning to prison in 1979 for tax evasion. During the ’80s, his performances became sloppy and erratic. A 1986 documentaryHail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll was filmed to capture Berry’s 60th birthday party organized by Keith Richards, though Berry seemed bitter that The Rolling Stones and others had capitalized on his signature sound.
The police came calling again in 1990 when several women sued Berry for installing a video camera in the ladies restroom of his restaurant The Southern Air. A police raid on his house found marijuana and the incriminating videos; Berry plea bargained and served a six month jail sentence. Today, he performs one a month at Blueberry Hill, a local St. Louis club.
Despite his regular run-ins with the law, Chuck Berry is a creative icon whose songwriting, showmanship, and rock & roll lifestyle created the sound of an era. Any guitar player learning rock is learning to play Chuck Berry– his personality and his craft permeates every last corner of the art form. We want to wish Mr. Berry all the best, and a huge thank you for all the great music over the years.
Hail! Hail! Chuck Berry!
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