I had no idea how much one man had impacted my life until Chuck Berry died recently at age 90.

When I was 8 years old, I knew that I wanted to play Rock and Roll music. What I didn’t know was that Chuck almost single handedly gave Rock and Roll the roots of its sound and paved the road to success for all rock acts who would follow, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

I remember walking into Mike Hubrel’s bedroom in 1970 to sit down for my first guitar lesson. It was a stark contrast. Mike’s hair was long, and his walls were covered with cool posters and photos of rock stars of the day.

My hair was short, and I didn’t have cool posters or photos of rock stars of the day. My father would never have approved of either.

About 10 years older than me, Mike had a modern, electric guitar that glistened and looked expensive. I had my dad’s acoustic, which was almost as big as I was and likely cost a few dollars at Sears and Roebuck when Eisenhower was president.

Mike asked me what I wanted to learn. My answer was Rock and Roll.

Now, some guitar teachers would have insisted that you first learn music theory, scales, and how to read music. Not Mike. He taught me the chords A, D, and E.

I had no idea at the time, but he had given me the keys to Rock and Roll.

On those three chords, Chuck Berry built Johnny B. Goode, Maybelline, No Particular Place To Go, Roll Over Beethoven, and dozens of other songs that would become the foundation of a genre of music that would give pleasure to multiple generations for decades to come.

Chuck blended country music with rhythm and blues. He wasn’t the first to do this, but what Chuck did that others hadn’t done was write smart lyrics that every person; rich or poor, black or white, could relate to. He wrote about cars, school, girls, money, and he showed that he was a learned individual.

In Roll Over Beethoven, he wrote:

You know, my temperature’s risin’
And the jukebox blows a fuse
My heart’s beatin’ rhythm
And my soul keeps on singin’ the blues
Roll Over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news

I wasn’t around in the mid-50s, but I’m guessing that Mr. Berry introduced many a young radio listener to the names, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

In an interview I watched on YouTube, Chuck explained that, as a young man, he was very much into poetry. Unlike many of his generation, he not only finished high school, but had some education beyond that.

He grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. His father was a contractor and a deacon in the church, and his mother was a high school principal. Chuck got work playing his music in clubs. His father would never have approved of either, the music or the clubs.

So, in the early days, he appeared on marquees as Chuck Berryne,

By age 14, I was in my first band, my hair was long, and the walls of my room were covered with cool posters and photos of rock stars of the day. My dad still didn’t approve.

Much to the chagrin of the neighbors, the band often practiced at my house. One of the first songs we learned was Johnny B. Goode. That one song broke the ice between me and my dad.

One day when we were playing it, I looked up to see my father standing in the doorway smiling and tapping his foot. He may not have approved of the hair or the posters, but he approved of Chuck Berry.

I would go on to join other bands, and whether I was in a rock band or a country band, Johnny B. Goode was always on our set list. From the stage, you could see everyone leaving their chairs and heading to the dance floor when the opening riff began. They would smile and sing as they danced.

I have to say, there’s no better feeling than playing Johnny B. Goode in front of an audience.

The Beatles and Stones would surpass and outsell Chuck Berry, but they all revered him. John Lennon recounted the first time he met him with a look of unworthiness and awe. Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones threw a 60th birthday party for chuck in 1987, and he and Eric Clapton were part of Chuck’s backup band.

Chuck Berry accomplished more in his life than he got credit for. He broke down racial barriers with his music. Some of his biggest fans in the early years were white kids. Chuck opened one of the first night clubs that wasn’t segregated. And he wrote timeless songs that were the building blocks for a type of music that now has its own hall of fame in Cleveland.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in the 1980s, Chuck Was one of the first inductees. Rightfully so.

Chuck passed away at his St. Louis-area home at age 90. He had recently recorded a new album. It will be released this year.

He gave us more than we gave him.

Thanks, Chuck, for everything.

©2017 John Moore
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