Charles Edward Anderson Berry was not the fastest guitarist, nor the loudest, nor the most talented player. Charles was simply one of rock and roll’s first showmen; and now Chuck Berry has died at the age of 90.
Chuck Berry was the pioneer of rock and roll, influencing the genre’s greatest talents. John Lennon of the Beatles once said “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.” Chuck Berry was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first inductee class and has earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, along with the Kennedy Center Honors award.
Here’s the one thing you have to consider; the British invasion, which exploded with the Beatles appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964, was the direct result of British musicians hearing American musicians on the BBC. Yes, Buddy Holly was influential, but it was Chuck Berry that stirred the imaginations and inspirations of Eric Burdon, The Beatles, Mick Jagger and other young British acts to reach for the stars.
Now, one of rock and roll’s biggest stars is gone – Chuck Berry gone at the age of 90.
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