Lots of folks have laid claim to inventing rock 'n' roll, but no one - not even Elvis - has a stronger case than Chuck Berry. He took urban blues, framed them on a country blueprint, turned up the volume, and - presto - let it rock! Chuck's chugging guitar riffs and keen adolescent perspective influenced rockers for decades to come, and his hits burrowed into our cultural psyche. When we think of rock 'n' roll, we think of Chuck Berry - whether we know it or not. Moreover, Berry established the guitar as the phallic symbol of choice for young musicians, and his lyrics set a standard for invention, humor, and poesy that has rarely been matched - Bob Dylan wishes he could write a song as brilliant as "Nadine." Over the years, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Big Star, the Sex Pistols and countless others have acknowledged the debt they owe Chuck Berry, and it is nearly impossible to overstate his importance in the history of rock 'n' roll.

To top it off, Chuck's band was anchored by Johnnie Johnson, one of rock's all-time great pianists, and, it has been alleged, co-author of Chuck Berry's music. Mr. Johnson, in fact, was the inspiration for one of Chuck Berry's greatest songs - the real "Johnny B. Goode," albeit one who played eighty-eight black-and-white keys rather than six silver strings. Johnson's playing is mixed low on a lot of Berry records, but listen closely - many people claim Chuck stole his guitar licks from Johnnie! Later in life, Johnson became an artist in his own right, most impressively with Johnnie Be Bad (1991). Widely praised by the Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and others, Johnson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, and he died in 2005.

It has been said that Chuck Berry's songs have a certain sameness. True, if only in the frequency he deployed that trilling guitar obbligato that introduces about half of his songs (c.f. "Roll Over Beethoven"). The more you listen, though, the more his songs distinguish themselves, if only in their narrative. Chuck Berry wrote stories as much as songs, little tales of the lives of the teenagers that bought his records (never mind he was nearly 30 when he achieved stardom). Cars, girls, and rock 'n' roll were his universe, and it was a place we all wanted to go. His unique, almost dyslexic use of language raised these teenaged tales to the level of mythology. Hits like "Maybelline," "Back In The USA," "School Days," and others too numerous to list sound as vital today as they did upon release - and their stories ring just as true.