Charles Edward Anderson who is better known as Chuck Berry is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter and is considered pioneer in rock and roll music. Chuck was born on October 18, 1926 at Missouri.
EARLY LIFE: Chuck spent his childhood in Missouri and his interest in music was evident from the very beginning. He gave his first performance at Sumner High School. Due to charges of armed robbery in the shops of Kansas City, he had to spend 3 years in prison. After sentence he get settled in his life and kept music as his part time hobby. He got a break in music industry in 1955, by his song Maybellene, which is considered as number 1 blockbuster hit and remain number 1 on Billboard’s Rhythm and Blues chart for a very long time. This was just the start of his brilliant career, after which he gave many hits and later established his own night club at St. Louis. He was later sentenced twice because of tax evasion and transporting under-aged girls across state lines. Despite this, his career has always been very progressive and he gave numerous hits one after other that’s only because he treated rock like a family, respected it like a father and nourished it like a son.
NOTABLE MUSIC AND SONGS:
Chuck’s songs were
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Maybellene (1955)
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Roll O. Beethoven (1956)
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Rock and even Roll music (1957)
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Johnny B. Goode (1958)
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No Particular or main Place To Go
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You can Never Tell or you never can Tell
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Nadine
He has the honor to be included in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on its opening in 1986, as a tribute to his services rendered to the music industry and to rock and roll in particular.
GREAT TRIBUTES AND HONORS:
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I discovered a sound that people really liked or loved – I found this basic concept and the main thing I did was really to change the lyrics and the melody a little bit. My songs, if you listen to them, they’re quite a lot alike, like Chuck Berry.
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If you tried or wish to give rock and roll another name, you may call it ‘Chuck Berry’. (John Lennon)
- In December 2004, six songs of Berry were included in the “Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, which are
- Johnny B. Goode (# 7)
- Maybellene (# 18)
- Roll O. Beethoven (# 97)
- Roll & even Rock Music (#128)
4. In September 2003, He was ranked number 6 in the list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by magazine.
5. Berry was given the rank of fifth, out of “The Immortals – The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time on March 2004,
6. In St. Louis, Walk of Fame, an 8 feet statue (2.4m) was built by donation of his fans. Berry attended the dedication ceremony that was held on July 29, 2011.
Today, name of Chuck Berry is known to entire world as the biggest contributor in rock and roll music.