Chuck Berry

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry.'" John Lennon

 

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No one person invented rock and roll, but Chuck Berry is the closest thing to a founder out there. His mixture of rock and roll sound and rock and roll attitude combined to form a special performer. He trademarked such moves on stage like double-string licks and the “duckwalk.” Berry was the first black artist to cross over the predominantly white billboard charts. He attributed this revolutionary success to his ability to reach out to audiences with his lyrics. This was part of his rock and roll attitude. Berry brought up things like the changing world of the 1950s in his own unique language. He sang about things that concerned his audience rather than himself. In such a racially based time period, perhaps the biggest compliment to Berry’s talent is his admirers. Bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Beach Boys all cite Berry as an inspiration of theirs. Despite all his success Berry only managed to get one Number 1 hit with the song “My Ding-a-Ling.” Regardless of this, Berry is still the first one to put all of the rock and roll elements together to become one of the true pioneers of the genre.