Berry, Chuck (Charles Edward Anderson Berry) (bĕr`ē), 1926–, American rock music guitarist, singer, and songwriter, b. San Jose, Calif. He was brought up in St. Louis, Mo., where he still lives. Berry is widely regarded as one of the leading pioneers of rock music, having blended the blues with country music and added a rhythm-and-blues beat, and he is thought by many to be the inventor of the rock music form. His distinctive playing of the electric guitar and his witty lyrics were a major inspiration for the English pop renaissance and for a wide variety of other rock musicians. A dynamic performer, he also became known for his signature crouching and gliding "duck walk." Berry produced a string of hits in the late 1950s, including "Maybellene," "Rock and Roll Music," "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Johnny B. Goode." In 1962 he was sentenced to two years in prison on the charge of transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes. His creative output subsequently dwindled and he cut his last record in 1981, butt he continued to be an active and popular performer into the 21st cent. Berry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Bibliography

See his autobiography (1987); biographies by K. Reese (1983), B. Pegg (2002), and J. Collis (2003); study by H. A. DeWitt (1985); T. Hackford, dir., Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, (film documentary, 1987).

Berry, Chuck

orig. Charles Edward Anderson Berry

(born Oct. 18, 1926, St. Louis, Mo., U.S. ) U.S. singer-songwriter. Though first interested in country music, in the early 1950s Berry led a blues trio that played in black nightclubs around St. Louis. In 1955 he traveled to Chicago and made his first hit record, “Maybellene,” which was soon followed by “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Johnny B. Goode,” “Rock and Roll Music,” and “Roll Over, Beethoven.” He was one of the first to shape big-beat blues into what came to be called rock and roll (see rock music) and to achieve widespread popularity with white audiences. After two trials tainted by racist overtones, in 1959 he began a five-year prison sentence for immoral behaviour. In 1972 he achieved his first number one hit, “My Ding-A-Ling.” He continued to perform into the 1990s. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were among the many rock bands greatly influenced by Berry.

Berry, (Charles Edward Anderson) Chuck (1926– ) musician; born in St. Louis, Mo. As a singer-guitarist who drew from blues, rockabilly, and country-and-western styles, and wrote songs about teenage concerns, he was the biggest influence on pre-Beatles rock. He trained as a hairdresser and played with Johnnie Johnson's trio in East St. Louis, Ill., before launching his career with Chess Records in Chicago in 1955. With hit songs such as "School Days," "Rock and Roll Music," and "Johnny B Goode," he appealed to teenagers of all races. In 1962, he began serving a two-year sentence for violating the Mann Act. After his release in 1964, his career never fully recovered, although his 1972 release "My Ding A Ling" was the most successful record of his career. (He served other brief prison terms in 1979 and 1990.) In 1986, he became an inaugural member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. His memoir, Chuck Berry: The Autobiography, was published in 1988.