Molly Whitehorn, Staff Writer

He is a pioneer, an icon, and a father of rock ’n’ roll. He paved the way for some of the best rock ’n’ roll musicians of all time. Without him, The Beatles may have never gone down to Strawberry Fields, The Rolling Stones may have never asked for shelter and Led Zeppelin may have never found their stairway to Heaven. He is Chuck Berry.

Berry was born on Oct. 18, 1926, to a father who was a Baptist deacon and a mother who was a principal. He was able to pursue music at an early age by playing with blues bands in his hometown of St. Louis. He was mainly influenced by T-Bone Walker (a blues player and one of the earliest users of the electric guitar, who also influenced Jimi Hendrix) and Louis Jordan (an Arkansas native who was known as “The King of Jukebox” in the swing era).

However, it wasn’t until he met Muddy Waters in 1955 that his career truly took flight. Waters introduced Berry to Leonard Chess of Chess Records, who, surprisingly, was not interested in hearing rhythm and blues. He was interested in bringing out the hillbilly in Berry.

So, on May 21, 1955, “Maybelline” was recorded with a more country sound and the career of a true rock star commenced.

Since Berry released mostly singles throughout his career, album choices are limited to compilations. But don’t worry, this isn’t a cheesy greatest hits album done by some Joe McGee, this is a seriously awesome album and one that would not waste the listener’s precious time.

The Great Twenty-Eight

Released in 1982, The Great Twenty-Eight came out at least 17 years after any song featured on it. The album is set up chronologically, and it literally takes you through the career of a legend.

You can almost physically see Berry growing from a seedling on the song “Thirty Days” (released in 1955), sprouting as a bud on “Little Queenie” (released in 1959) and emerging as a full-grown, veteran rock ’n’ roll flower on “Nadine (Is It You?)” (released in 1964).

When you listen to the album, you can hear where a lot of other rock musicians got their influence. “Rock & Roll Music” sounds like a song straight off a Beach Boys album with the breezy feel and distinguished guitar riffs. And if you’re familiar with the line “Here come old flattop, he come groovin’ up slowly” from the song “Come Together” by an obscure band called The Beatles, Berry has the line “Here come old flattop, he was movin’ up with me” on the song “You Can’t Catch Me.”

The album also has all of the Berry favorites, such as “Maybelline,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “No Particular Place To Go.” My favorite Berry song, and I’m sure I’m not alone on this one, is “Johnny B. Goode.” The song has clever lyrics that will be stuck in your head for a year. It’s about a young guitar playing fool named (what else?) Johnny. With guitar chords that could make your hair stand on end, it could very well be the best guitar song of all time. (Okay, some Hendrix and Clapton songs make this a hard title to win.)

These songs are not only Berry staples, but staples of the rock ’n’ roll world as a whole. I would recommend that anyone who is a music fan go out and buy this album if they want to hear where it all began.

Today

Chuck Berry is still alive today, but he has left the fast-paced life of rock ’n’ roll stardom to return to his roots in Missouri, playing at local bars every now and then and sometimes at special events.

He was among the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and he was with good company, as others in the group were Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Little Richard and people of similar status. Since then, Berry has been added to many other lists such as being placed No.7 on Time Magazine’s 10 Best Electric Guitar Players of All Time.

Berry’s first public performance was at his high school in St. Louis. Back then he was just a kid with a dream. Today, everybody knows his name. The great John Lennon once said, “If you tried to give rock ’n’ roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.’”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.