The Man who gave us the Duck Walk....
Charles Edward Anderson otherwise known as the great "Chuck" Berry, was born October 18, 1926, the fourth child to Henry and Martha Berry, a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri. Little did they realize, they were raising one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who helped to refine and develope the basic elements that which made the style distinctive.
His interest in music was evident from an early age when he gave his first performance at Sumner High School. Blues player T-Bone Walker with his stage presence and guitar stylings had a major influence on Chuck Berry's sound. Shortly after High School, Berry performed with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. Arriving in Chicago, May 1955, Chuck met Musician Muddy Waters. This encounter resulted in the big break Chuck had been looking for, when Muddy suggested he contact Leonard Chess, proprietor of Chess Records. His first recording for Chess was "Maybellene", Berry's adaptation of the country song "Ida Red", which went on to sell over a million copies, reaching #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart. He emulated the smooth vocal clarity of his idol, Nat King Cole, while playing blues songs from bands like Muddy Waters
Songs such as "Roll over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), followed, focusing on teen life and introducing an unsuspecting population to guitar intros, lead breaks and instrument showmanship that would forever influence on rock music.
As an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, from 1940 to now, Berry could do no wrong. Unfortunately life has a way of making you take a few detours while on the journey, and Chuck was no exception. He served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947, while still a high school student. After his release on his 21st birthday, Berry went on to marry Themetta "Toddy" Suggs on October 28, 1948. Two years later on October 3, 1950, the first "Darlin Ingrid Berry" of their four children were born. The others were: Chuck Berry, Jr. Aloha Isa Lei Berry; Melody Exes Berry.
Chuck worked at a number of jobs in St. Louis to support his young family; stints as a factory worker in an automotive plants, as a janitor in the apartment building where he and his wife resided. He even trained as a beautician. Then in December 1959, Berry was sentenced to five years in prison for offenses under the Mann Act - he had transported a 14-year-old girl to work at his club, and the girl was later arrested for prostitution. Upon his release from prison in 1963, several more hits followed: including "No Particular Place To Go", "You Never Can Tell", and "Nadine". Then on October 21, 1972, the song "My Ding-a-Ling" soars to No. 1, the only Berry recording to top the charts. As the 1970s ended, Berry was more in demand performing live at venues, entertaining with hits from the past. Because he insisted on being paid cash, in 1979 he earned four months in prison, his third conviction for tax evasion.
His love of entertaining so great, Chuck established his own St. Louis-based nightclub, called Berry's Club Bandstand, and in 1961 opened an amusement park, called Berryland, outside St. Louis. In March 1978 he appeared as himself in the film "American Hot Wax," a biography about deejay Alan Freed. At the request of Jimmy Carter, Chuck Berry performed at The White House on June 1, 1979. Late February 1985, he receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards and the following year he became one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs: "Johnny B. Goode", "Maybellene", & "Rock and Roll Music", as part of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. After much anticipation, his candid autobiography "Chuck Berry: The Autobiography " was released in 1987.
Now in his eighties, Chuck Berry travels the globe playing live performances, and continuing to amuse, inspire, and entertain us.
http://www.chuckberry.com/index.php
http://www.amazon.com/Chuck-Berry-Autobiography/dp/0517566664/ref=pd_sim_b_1
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