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Saturday, March 24, 2012

The #48 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Chuck Berry

Up next in this special feature, one of the pioneers of rock & roll:
#48:  Chuck Berry
58 years as an active guitarist
(Berry singing and playing "Nadine")

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri.  He was one of the pioneers of the rock and roll sound, helping incorporate elements of rhythm and blues into the unique rock & roll sound.  His guitar solos and showmanship would have a major influence on artists for decades and in fact to this day.

Berry developed an interest in music at an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School in St. Louis in 1941.  Berry began working at an automobile assembly plant in 1947.  By 1953, Berry was influenced by the guitar solos and showmanship of T-Bone Walker, and took lessons from friend Ira Harris.  Chuck began performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. 


From the beginning, Chuck was a showman.  In 1955, Berry traveled to Chicago and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he get in touch with Leonard Chess of Chess Records.  Berry made a favorable impression, for he was signed to a recording contract and recorded "Maybellene", Berry's adaptation of the song "Ida Red".  The song was certified Gold and reached #1 on the R&B chart.  The following year, Berry released "Roll Over Beethoven", which was only a modest hit at the time but is now recognized for the great song it is.


In 1957, Berry went on tour with the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and others on Alan Freed's "Biggest Show of Stars".  He also performed "Rock 'n' Roll Music" on The Guy Mitchell Show on ABC.  Berry had over a dozen hits in the next three years, including "School Days", "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Johnny B. Goode".

By the end of the decade, Berry was an established star well in demand for live shows.  But his career took a downturn after it was alleged that he had sex with a 14-year-old girl that he had transported across state lines to work as a hat check girl at his St. Louis nightclub, Berry's Club Bandstand.    After two trials and an appeal, Berry was convinced and sentenced to three years in prison. 

When Berry was released in 1963, he was able to continue recording because groups such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones had released cover versions of his songs.  Berry released "No Particular Place to Go", essentially a remake of "School Day", and "Nadine".  He continued to record in the 60's but by the 1970's, Chuck was more in demand as a nostalgic live performer.


Steve Miller and Bruce Springsteen were among the musicians who backed up Berry in the 1970's.  Berry performed for President Jimmy Carter at the White House on June 1, 1979.  Berry toured the oldies circuit and was often paid in cash by local promoters.  This led to an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and later that year, Berry pleaded guilty to tax evasion and served four months in prison.


When he was released from prison, Berry continued to play 70 to 100 shows per year, traveling solo and requiring a local band to back him at each show.  In 1986, Taylor Hackford's documentary film Hail!  Hail!  Rock 'n' Roll, a celebration concert for Berry's 60th birthday, in which Berry showed his bitterness at the fame and financial success that Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones achieved on the back of Berry's songs.  Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Robert Cray and Julian Lennon appeared on stage and in the film. 


Berry again became notorious when women who went to his restaurant filed a law suit over a video camera that was installed in the women's bathroom.  Though Berry claimed that it wasn't installed to spy on women, a raid of his house found videotapes from the recordings (that also showed young girls) as well as marijuana.  Not wanting to face child abuse charges, Berry plead guilty to the marijuana charge.  


Berry still performs one Wednesday per month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant and bar in St. Louis.  


Berry played a Gibson ES-355 guitar on his tours in the 1970's.  

Berry received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2000.  Chuck was in the initial class of inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.    In the area honoring Berry is the inscription:  "While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together. It was his particular genius to graft country & western guitar licks onto a rhythm & blues chassis in his very first single, Maybellene." An eight-foot statue of Berry was erected along the St. Louis Walk of Fame.


Though Berry has had his share of missteps and mistakes, no one can deny that he was one of the pioneers of rock and roll, helping mold rhythm and blues elements into the style that made rock and roll so appealing.  His use of guitar solos and showmanship greatly influenced future performers.  His "duck walk" of course, became famous.  Chuck Berry is #48...

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