Chuck Berry: The End of an Era.....

Sometimes the word great is used too often. It should be reserved for something truly special. There are great Presidents on Mt. Rushmore. There are great players in the Hall of Fame. Yet, in the case of Chuck Berry, the word great doesn't begin to cover it. He may have invented Rock and Roll.

Chuck Berry - Hail. Hail Rock and Roll.

I learned of the passing of Chuck Berry while checking my smartphone and having dinner with friends at a restaurant. I immediately felt that it signaled the end of an era. When somebody so ingrained with a style or part of history passes, it's a major news item. Like when Frank Sinatra or Bob Hope passed away, that type of entertainment passed away too. I can't think of any other people of his generation that had such an effect on popular music. He was 90 years old.

Berry gave his first public performance while a high school student in St. Louis. By the early 1950's he was developing a unique guitar style. That style seemed influenced by blues musicians of the day, but had a flair all it's own. Some people even thought it was country music. What it was was a style of rhythm and blues that was accessible to the masses. They called it Rock and Roll.

Chuck Berry - Keith Richards

The hits started to come. Songs like Maybellene, Johnny B. Goode, Nadine, and Rock and Roll Music were hitting the top of the charts. They were popular with all types of young people. That was the key. Because Berry, a black artist, became the first crossover artist as his records were also played on "white" radio station. In that sense. what Jackie Robinson was to baseball, Chuck Berry was to popular music.

Beyond the music, Berry also toured worldwide and brought his musical style to the masses. Berry still toured until recent years. His "duckwalk" style was unique and an instant hit. Ever since, live Rock and Roll meant going to a show, not just a concert. He even performed at the White House. His music and his style made him a legend. His legacy is unmatched.

While his music may have blues influences, it was anything but sad.  His songs seemed to have a bouncy, optimistic sound. They were about teenage swagger. His songs were recorded by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and a million other acts. Johnny B. Goode might be the ultimate Rock and Roll song. He was one of the first artists inducted into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame.

I do think it's necessary to separate the artist and the person. Chuck Berry had numerous run ins with the law, including involvement with a minor that led to a prison term. Even in the 1980's Berry was charged with having a video camera in the restroom of his restaurant. So my accolades to him are about his artistry, not his questionable actions.

Yet, there is no question his music and style changed things in popular music in America. I can imagine a time, hundreds of years from today, when people might be trying to learn about an old, dead art form called Rock and Roll. (Hell, it might be dead already.) There will be many artists to talk about. But the father of them all might be Chuck Berry. Roll over Beethoven.



To learn more about Chuck Berry, there's a great rockumentary about him. Here's a trailer.
* A shout out to my daughter Kristina for the topic suggestion.