Chuck Berry

Berry was almost 26 before he gave his first paid performance, and didn't record until three years later. By the early 50s he was leading a blues trio which featured pianist Johnnie Johnson, while his influences ranged from the likes of T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian and Les Paul, to Louis Jordan, and even Nat 'King' Cole, as well as the songwriter Don Raye, who wrote for Ella Mae Morse ("House Of Blue Lights","Down The Road Apiece"). In 1955, under the supervision of blues giant Muddy Waters, Berry recorded a demo of "Ida Red", a song derived from a country and western record he had heard on the radio. Leonard Chess persuaded him to re-record the track as "Maybellene", and the record quickly became one of the earliest rock'n'roll hits, soon followed by the immortal "Roll Over Beethoven", a statement of intent if ever there were one.

With nearly twenty chart hits between 1957 and 1960, Berry became famous for his examination of the adolescent experience, particularly on "Rock'N'Roll Music", "School Day" and "Sweet Little Sixteen". And as the next decade was to prove, he was a figurehead and a role model for a generation of aspiring rock'n'rollers. He even made several big-screen appearances - "Rock Rock Rock", "Mr. Rock'N'Roll" (both 1957) and "Go Johnny Go" (1959), while his live concert show was captured on film in "Jazz On A Summer's Day" (1960).

In 1959 Berry was convicted on an immorality charge concerning a teenage girl employed at his nightclub. His first conviction was quashed on appeal, but he was eventually sentenced and spent a total of two years in jail. By the time he was released from prison, his early recordings were more popular than ever, thanks to his huge influence upon the new breed of white rock groups. In the UK, The Beatles and The Stones made his songs staples of their live repertoire and recorded their own versions on their early LPs. Dylan's first Top 40 single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (1965), obviously drew upon one of Berry's classic numbers,"Too Much Monkey Business". His first recordings upon leaving jail included "Nadine","No Particular Place To Go" and "It Wasn't Me".

Rock and Roll Music

The father of Rock'n'Roll