Chuck Berry Tribute

If you think about Rock N Roll in it's early stages, the "developing years", if you will, then no single artist was more important and more influential than Chuck Berry. Everyone knows that Elvis is referred to as the "King of Rock N Roll", but the truth is that, as great as Elvis was, the real true "King of Rock" is Chuck Berry. As Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stated, "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." Chuck was so important in the development of rock n roll that John Lennon said, "If you try to give Rock N Roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry". Chuck is also noted as being one the best guitarists in Rock N Roll history.

In 1986, Chuck Berry became the very first inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Chuck Berry gave rock and roll an archetypal character in “Johnny B. Goode” and was responsible for one of its most recognizable stage moves, his “duckwalk.” All the while, his repertoire—not only the hits, but lesser-known songs like “Little Queenie” and “Let It Rock”—were being mastered by eager apprentices on the other side of the ocean, such as Keith Richards and John Lennon. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many other British Invasion acts covered Chuck Berry at a time when the master himself was serving two years in prison on what now appear to be trumped-up charges. Released in 1964, Berry proved he still had some rock and roll classics left in him ("No Particular Place to Go,” “You Never Can Tell,” “Promised Land"). All the while, even groups like the Beach Boys plundered Berry for inspiration. Their 1963 hit “Surfin’ U.S.A.” so blatantly appropriated the melody and rhythm of Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” that he sued and won a songwriting credit. Ironically, this venerable rock and roll pioneer achieved his one and only Number 1 hit, “My Ding-a-Ling”—a risque novelty song he’d long been performing in adult nightclub settings—in 1972. By this time, his music had grown so entrenched that he didn’t even tour with a band, preferring to recruit pickup musicians in each new town. In those days, if you knew how to play rock and roll, it was a given that you’d cut your teeth on the songs of Chuck Berry.”

I thought I would share this video that I found. It's amazing! Proving just how great this man is. The video below was shot in March, 2008. Chuck Berry is 81 years old and still performs as great as always... and those licks flowing from his Gibson ES-335 are just as smokin' as they used to be. Go Chuck Go!!

Enjoy!!