Charles Edward Anderson Berry (18 October 1926 – 18 March 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, widely regarded as a pioneer of rock and roll. Often referred to as the “Father of Rock and Roll”, he played a significant role in developing rhythm and blues into the style that became rock and roll. His best-known songs include "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957), and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958).
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Charles Edward Anderson Berry (18 October 1926 – 18 March 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, widely regarded as a pioneer of rock and roll. Often referred to as the “Father of Rock and Roll”, he played a significant role in developing rhythm and blues into the style that became rock and roll. His best-known songs include "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957), and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958). Berry’s lyrics frequently addressed themes of teenage life and consumer culture, while his music featured prominent guitar solos and stage performance elements that influenced later rock musicians. Berry was born into a middle-class African American family in St. Louis, Missouri. He developed an interest in music at an early age and gave his first public performance while attending Sumner High School. During his youth he was convicted of armed robbery and served time in a reformatory from 1944 to 1947. After his release he returned to St. Louis, married, and worked at an automobile assembly plant. In the early 1950s Berry began performing locally, influenced by blues guitarist T-Bone Walker. By 1953 he was playing with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. In May 1955 he traveled to Chicago, where he met Muddy Waters, who advised him to contact Leonard Chess of Chess Records. Berry subsequently recorded "Maybellene", an adaptation of the country song "Ida Red", which sold more than one million copies and reached number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart. By the late 1950s Berry had become an established performer with several hit records, film appearances, and a successful touring career. He also opened a nightclub in St. Louis called Berry’s Club Bandstand. In January 1962 he was convicted under the Mann Act for transporting a 14-year-old girl across state lines and was sentenced to three years in prison. After his release in 1963 he returned to recording and touring, releasing songs including "No Particular Place to Go", "You Never Can Tell", and "Nadine". Although these recordings were commercially successful, they did not achieve the same long-term impact as his work from the 1950s. From the 1970s onward he frequently toured as a heritage performer, often playing with locally assembled backing bands. Berry was among the first musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the institution was established in 1986, in recognition of his role in shaping the sound and image of rock and roll. He has appeared in several Rolling Stone lists of the greatest artists, ranking fifth on the magazine’s 2004 and 2011 lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and second on its 2023 list of the greatest guitarists. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll includes three of Berry’s recordings: "Johnny B. Goode", "Maybellene", and "Rock and Roll Music". "Johnny B. Goode" is also included on the Voyager Golden Record, a collection of cultural artifacts sent into space aboard the Voyager spacecraft. Studio albums After School Session (1957) One Dozen Berrys (1958) Berry Is on Top (1959) Rockin' at the Hops (1960) New Juke Box Hits (1961) Two Great Guitars (1964) St. Louis to Liverpool (1964) Chuck Berry in London (1965) Fresh Berrys (1965) Chuck Berry's Golden Hits (1967) Chuck Berry in Memphis (1967) From St. Louie to Frisco (1968) Concerto in "B Goode" (1969) Back Home (1970) San Francisco Dues (1971) The London Chuck Berry Sessions (1972) Bio (1973) Chuck Berry (1975) Rockit (1979) Chuck (2017)
