Chuck Berry was an African American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who opened up the scene of the brand of music titled Rock and Roll(rock n roll) after refining rhythm and blues (RnB) through his songs. The development of rock and roll is closely linked with his career in the music industry.
despite growing up in a period of racial segregation, he outlived his time in his music and left a legacy beyond the color of skin.
Who Is Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born on October 18, 1926, in St Loius, Missouri, and grew up in the Ville neighborhood, a highly segregated neighborhood where a lot of middle-class blacks and businesses thrived. He was the fourth of six children.
As a child, he pursued a lot of interests, he learned carpentry from his father and photography from his uncle, Harry Davis.
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His Family And Spouse
His parent’s; Henry William Berry was a contractor and served as a deacon in a Baptist church while his mother, Martha Bell was a principal in a public school.
His background gave him the support that propelled him into a career in the music industry, from an early age he was exposed to music in school and in church.
He got married to Themeta Suggs in 1948 after coming out of reformatory. He wore many hats to support his family; he worked at automobile assembly plants, as a janitor, and trained as a beautician at the Poro College of cosmetology, no wonder, he kept a lovely perm.
Chuck Berry Net Worth
He had a long and successful career in music, his earnings were from his songs. His net worth is $10 million.
The Death of Chuck Berry
On March 18, 2017, the end came for him as he took his last breath and laid stop to the man, Chuck Berry. He died at the age of 90 in his home in Berry Park near Wentzville.
The home he died has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Though his guitar has been laid to rest, his legacy lives on.
The rock star wrote his songs and recorded them giving them a timeless uniqueness. He is indeed the king of rock and roll!
7 Important Facts About Chuck Berry
1.He is referred to as the ‘father of rock and roll’
He was one of the pioneers of the rock and roll music genre as his songs; His songs Maybellene(1955), Roll Over Beethoven(1956), Rock and Roll Music(1957), and Johnny Goode(1958) had the major elements that distinguished rock and roll from rhythm and blues.
In the collection of 100 Rock and Roll songs, four of his songs are featured.
2.Guitar Showmanship is one of his trademarks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0vKbnvZCIA
The lyrical content of his songs tilted towards teen life and consumerism with solo guitar performances and the involvement of stunts, gimmicks.
As a child, he used the duck walk to retrieve a ball from under a table and he would later go on to make it part of his musical act. He first used this in New York where it was also coined the duck walk by journalists. The influence of his music transcended to rock artists
3.Chuck Berry Was Once Put In Reformatory
At the age of 17, Chuck Berry and his friends decided to challenge what they viewed as strict decorum and discipline by dropping out of school, they discovered a gun and decided to go on a robbery spree.
He was in a reformatory from 1944-1947 after being convicted of armed robbery.
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4.His First Public Performance Was In High School
His interest in music was right from a young age and had his first public performance in 1941 at Sumner High school while he was still a student.
5.Chuck Berry Was Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame
Chuck Berry was one of the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it opened in 1996 as his music not only contributed a sound it also gave it a stance.
6.Chuck Berry Was Signed To Chess With ‘Maybellene’
While searching for contracts in the 1950s, he transversed Chicago in search of a music contract and got to meet Buddy waters, the famous musician who directed him to Chess records.
He wrote and recorded Maybellene, this song convinced the Chess Records executives into signing s contract with him within months. The song went on to top the RnB charts and was no. 5 on Pop Chart.
In the eleven years that Chuck Berry worked for Chess records, he was one of their biggest stars.
7.He Made The Cut For The NASA Golden Songs
The two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in 1977 by NASA with a 12-inch golden-plated record of songs from different cultures, Chuck Berry’s Johnny B.Goode was part of the collection.
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