Chuck Berry

Born: 1926 in St. Louis, MO

Died: 2017

Guitarist, singer/songwriter & overall entertainer, he’s one of the pioneers and greatest influencers of rock and roll music.

Wrote songs like “Johnny B. Goode” that included guitar solos and plenty of room for showmanship.

His 3 essentials of rock music: have total swagger, focus on the guitar riff and focus on the songwriting as storytelling.

Epic in his showmanship, his one-legged hop routine known as the “duck walk” is still used by guitarists today.

Upon its 1986 opening, he was among first inductees into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Beatles legend John Lennon said: “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.”