Chuck Berry
Rock and roll's father
Chuck Berry was an American musician who pioneered rock and roll in the 1950s.
His guitar riffs, showmanship, and songs like "Johnny B.
Goode," "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Maybellene" established the template for rock music.
Berry's influence on the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and virtually every rock act that followed is difficult to overstate.
Squat-legged locomotion
- Sun RecordsPioneering Memphis recording studio
- rhythm and bluesPostwar Black popular music
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
- showmanshipSkill at impressive presentation
Johnny B. Goode · Maybellene · stage presence · 1950s · jukebox · sock hop · American Bandstand · pompadour
Repeated melodic figures
- solosSingle-performer pieces
- strummingSweeping across guitar strings
- fretboardStringed instrument's neck face
- double-stopTwo strings bowed together
string bending · electric guitar · amplifier · showmanship · duck walk · splits · Keith Richards · Angus Young
Early explorer or settler
- Rock and Roll Hall of FameMuseum honoring influential musicians
- iconPictorial screen symbol
- influentialHaving considerable effect
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
seminal · trailblazer · inspiration · cultural impact · Beatles · Rolling Stones · Beach Boys · AC/DC
Recounting events aloud
- school daysEducational period of youth
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- narrativeAccount of events
- verse-chorusRecurring song pattern
duckwalk
Squat-legged locomotion
- Sun RecordsPioneering Memphis recording studio
- rhythm and bluesPostwar Black popular music
- backbeatAccent on weak beats
Johnny B. Goode · Maybellene · showmanship · stage presence · 1950s · jukebox · sock hop · American Bandstand · pompadour · Cadillac
riffs
Repeated melodic figures
- solosSingle-performer pieces
- strummingSweeping across guitar strings
- fretboardStringed instrument's neck face
double-stop · string bending · electric guitar · amplifier · showmanship · duck walk · splits · Keith Richards · Angus Young · influence
pioneer
Early explorer or settler
- Rock and Roll Hall of FameMuseum honoring influential musicians
- iconPictorial screen symbol
- influentialHaving considerable effect
groundbreaking · seminal · trailblazer · inspiration · cultural impact · Beatles · Rolling Stones · Beach Boys · AC/DC · immortal
storytelling
Recounting events aloud
- school daysEducational period of youth
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- narrativeAccount of events
- rock musicrock band, electric guitar, guitar solo, guitar riff, guitar riffs
- 1950sEisenhower, poodle skirt, Elvis Presley, Rosa Parks, baby boom
- 1950s IconsElvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Lucille Ball, Audrey Hepburn
- Black MusiciansAretha Franklin, Beyonce, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
- guitaristsJimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen
- music legendsThe Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, James Brown
Chuck BerryPat Boone
cover artists · imitators · copyists · Vanilla Ice · session musicians
Chuck BerryPat Boone
teen idols · Fabian · Elvis Presley · Bill Haley · lounge singers
Chuck BerryPerry Como
Bing Crosby · crooners · elevator music · lounge singers · balladeers