FUN GUITARIST PROFILE: CHUCK BERRY! (OUR SERIES CONCLUSION)

The 1950's with his "Duck Walk"

Today at 80!

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

-- John Lennon

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It is fitting that we conclude our series of "Fun Guitarist Profiles" with Chuck Berry. Born in 1926, Berry combined the influences of Carl Hogan, the guitarist in Louis Jordan's jump-jive Tympani Five, blues guitarists T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and saxophonist Illinois Jacquet with country and western to form his own brand of Rock and Roll. Among Berry's catalogue, 'Johnny B. Goode', 'Roll Over Beethoven', 'Maybelline', 'Memphis', and 'Carol' start with a three-note pickup into repeated double-stops (licks involving playing two notes at once). His well-known "duck walk" across a stage paired with gestures and facial expressions to go along with the lyrics drove audiences into a frenzy. He is forever cemented in the annals of Rock and Roll. Early on, he found that if he learned rhythm changes and blues chords, he could play most of the popular songs on the radio at the time. His friend, Ira Harris, showed him techniques on the guitar and by 1952, he began playing guitar and singing in a club band whose song list ranged from blues to ballads and calypso to country. It is said that without Berry, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones might have never assembled. Either way, by the 1960s and 1970s, Berry's music was the inspiration for Stones guitarist Keith Richards, and Beatle George Harrison. Berry had a number of comeback recordings and in 1972 had the first and only #1 Pop Chart hit of his career with 'My Ding-A-Ling'. In 1986 he was among the first to be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His axes of note include: the Gibson ES-350T and 355 semi acoustics played through a Fender Bassman amp. In the past, his contracts have specified a Lincoln Towncar for him to drive to a gig from the airport, often with merely a pick up band and a Fender Bassman amp and cabinet awaiting him on-stage at the venue.

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This concludes our Fun Guitarist Profile Series on this Blog.

It was Good Fun and now it's time to Rock On!