Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry was born on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, MO to a middle class family. He is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and considered one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive. His lyrics focused on teen life and consumerism all while utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music. While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. After his release he settled into a married life and took work at an auto assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the guitar riffs and showmanship techniques of blues player T-Bone Walker, he was performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. His break came when he traveled to Chicago in May 1955, and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Chess Records. With Chess he recorded "Maybellene" — Berry's adaptation of the country song "Ida Red" — which sold over a million copies, reaching #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart. Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986, with the comment that he "laid the groundwork for not only a rock and roll sound but a rock and roll stance." This is his classic "Johnny B. Goode" off his 1959 release Chuck Berry Is on Top.

www.chuckberry.com

Smelly Dog