Known as the father of rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Berry, born in 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Berry was one of the most popular performers in rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll music in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.
Raised in a working-class African American family, Berry started performing when he was in high school. After that, he started learning basic guitar chords.
At the age of 17, Berry and two friends dropped out of high school and decided to go on a road trip to California. On the way there, they came across a pistol in a parking lot; they took it, robbed a bakery, a clothing store, and a barbershop, then stole a car before being arrested. Berry was sent to a Missouri prison to serve three years for armed robbery.
After his release, he worked at an auto plant and played music in small nightclubs.
In the mid-1950s, Berry began taking road trips to Chicago looking for a record contract. There he met Muddy Waters, who suggested that Berry should meet Chess Records.
Berry prepared for his meeting with Chess Records by writing and recording a song called “Maybellene” and taking it to the executives at Chess. The work paid off, and they offered him a contract. Within months, Maybellene reached No. 1 on the R&B charts and No. 5 on the pop charts. Many music historians consider “Maybellene” the first true rock ‘n’ roll song.
Berry began touring and releasing songs like Roll Over Beethoven, School Day, and Rock and Roll Music.
“I made records for people who would buy them,” Berry once said. “No color, no ethnic, no political, I don’t want that, never did.”
In 1961, Berry was convicted under the Mann Act of illegally transporting a woman across state lines and had to spend 20 months in jail.
When Berry was released in 1963, he immediately started writing and recording songs, like Nadine, You Can Never Tell, and Dear Dad.
In 1987, Berry published his book Chuck Berry: The Autobiography and then starred in and produced the documentary film Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Berry was among the very first group of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, with Keith Richards delivering his famous speech. “It’s very difficult for me to talk about Chuck Berry ’cause I’ve lifted every lick he ever played. This is the man that started it all!”
Berry passed away at his home on March 18, 2017, at the age of 90.
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