In Memory of Chuck Berry: One of the Architects of Rock and Roll

The debate over who “invented” Rock & Roll will never go away. Many give Elvis Presley the credit, while others claim that his music was nothing more than blues riffs sped up. Little Richard’s music is based on what was known as “barrel-house” or “boogie-woogie” piano, similar to the sound of Jerry Lee Lewis. Bo Diddley’s music is simple call-and-response, but all of these men helped shape Rock & Roll, as did the man who took the barrel-house piano sound and played it on the guitar; the incomparable Chuck Berry.

The music of Little Richard and Chuck Berry was oddly similar, but while Little Richard screamed and used his falsetto as his calling card, Berry’s signature was his guitar mastery and his showmanship. Chuck Berry was a great guitarist, ranking as high as seventh on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, but his shows featured much more than his musical skill. Berry incorporated dance moves that looked simple if done alone, but doing them while holding and playing a guitar made the steps and his show spectacular. 

Berry’s duck walk and his leg-extended hop should make playing the guitar more difficult, but Berry did both effortlessly, and they were necessary features of his shows. 

Chuck Berry’s music influenced scores of guitarists and other musicians, and Berry was a member of the first class of inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; a fitting legacy to one of the architects of what the world came to know as Rock & Roll music.