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Chuck
Berry was the real King of Rock & Roll. It took Elvis to make
the music safe for white suburban kids, but no one captured the spirit of
the music better than Chuck - and no one could ever match that nasty
guitar sound.
Little Richard claimed to be the king, but he was
really the Clown Prince. Fats Domino was the Duke.
In later years, Chuck would tour without a band,
hiring local musicians. He is reported to have said, "If you can't
play a Chuck Berry song, you got no business touching a guitar!" Those who do not claim him as a seminal influence or profess a liking for his music and showmanship show their ignorance of rock's development as well as his place as the music's first great creator.
Chuck Berry's top ten hits:* "Maybellene"
(5), "School Day" (3), "Rock & Roll Music" (8),
"Sweet Little Sixteen" (2), "Johnny B. Goode" (8),
"No Particular Place to Go" (10), "My Ding-a-Ling"
(1).
Chuck died
March 18, 2017, age the age of 90, a few weeks before the release of his final
album.
--Dick Estel, August 2006
*Billboard pop singles chart, as reported in the book Top 40
Hits, copyright 1992 by Joel Whitburn.
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