Chuck Berry

USA, 1953–2017

American singer and guitarist (1926-2017) who recorded for Chess. 'Maybellene', 'Johnny B. Goode' and 'Roll Over Beethoven' combined blues guitar figures with lyrics about teenage life, and supplied much of rock and roll's basic vocabulary.

MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced Chuck Berry and 19 artists Chuck Berry influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Chuck Berry?

• Sister Rosetta Tharpe — Tharpe's aggressive electric guitar in a gospel context was a direct model for Chuck Berry, who called his career 'one long Rosetta Tharpe impersonation.'
• Muddy Waters — It was Muddy Waters who brought Chuck Berry to Chess Records.
• T-Bone Walker — Berry's stage moves and guitar figures trace back to Walker.
• Louis Jordan — Berry named his source plainly: 'I identify myself with Louis Jordan more than any other artist' — the wit and riffs of the Tympany Five became rock and roll.

Which artists did Chuck Berry influence?

• Steppenwolf — Chuck Berry is in Steppenwolf's DNA — their debut album includes 'Berry Rides Again', an explicit uptempo homage to him.
• The 101ers — The 101ers' set was built on rock'n'roll standards, with Chuck Berry the most-played writer in it — 'Johnny B. Goode', 'Roll Over Beethoven', 'Oh Carol' and 'Monkey Business'.
• Jimi Hendrix — Chuck Berry's guitar style was the rock'n'roll foundation Hendrix built upon and then transcended.
• MC5 — Chuck Berry gave MC5 the language of rock'n'roll, which they aimed at the establishment.
• The Sonics — Chuck Berry's rock'n'roll vocabulary was the foundation The Sonics pushed to raw extremity.
• The Beach Boys — 'Surfin' U.S.A.' is a direct rewrite of 'Sweet Little Sixteen'; authorship was legally acknowledged.
• The Kinks — Chuck Berry was Ray Davies's starting point, as named in his autobiography.
• The Animals — Chuck Berry was among the basic reference points for the early Animals' repertoire.
• The Beatles — The Beatles performed and recorded Chuck Berry's songs.
• The Rolling Stones — The Stones' early repertoire was built on Chuck Berry songs.
• AC/DC — Chuck Berry's rock'n'roll DNA — short double-stop phrases, stage energy, the duckwalk — is the most visible influence on Angus Young.
• T. Rex — T. Rex's boogie is built on Berry's riff language — 'Get It On' openly borrows from 'Little Queenie'.
• The Dave Clark Five — The DC5 cut their teeth covering American rock'n'roll like Chuck Berry's 'Reelin' and Rockin'' on the military-base circuit.
• Del Shannon — Chuck Berry's energetic riffs and melodic hooks shaped Shannon's rock'n'roll songwriting.
• John Lennon — Chuck Berry's guitar and wordplay were foundational to Lennon's rock'n'roll.
• Paul McCartney — Chuck Berry's rock'n'roll was foundational to McCartney's early playing and writing.
• REO Speedwagon — Chuck Berry's rock and roll is at the foundation of REO Speedwagon's Midwestern good-time rock.
• Creedence Clearwater Revival — Named with Carl Perkins and Elvis among the rock and roll players Fogerty learned from.
• Grateful Dead — Garcia's phrasing owed as much to Chuck Berry as to Coltrane — the rock and roll half of a guitarist usually described through jazz.