Chuck Berry dies, aged 90: hail, hail rock 'n' roll

I saw Chuck Berry perform during his 1975 Australia Tour, where he played favourites, such as Rollover Beethoven; Johnny B. Goode; and No Particular Place to Go. It was not in a concert hall, but in a small intimate restaurant/nightclub – an unforgettable experience.

American guitarist and singer Chuck Berry, born Charles Edward Anderson Berry (1926-2017), died yesterday, 18 March 2017, at his home in St. Charles, near St. Louis, Missouri, in aged 90.

He had a degree in hairdressing and cosmetology and worked briefly as a beautician, before marrying Themetta Suggs in 1948. They had four children.

He started in the music business in 1955. His rock ’n’ roll music was about cars, girls, teenagers, love, fun, and music, combining country, hillbilly, blues and rock genres – which was described as ‘reckless and audacious.’ Johnny B. Goode topped the music charts in 1958. In 1972, Berry had the biggest hit of his career with My Ding-a-Ling.

He never won a Grammy Award, but the Recording Academy gave him a lifetime achievement award in 1984. He was in the first group of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He continued playing throughout his life. From 1996 to 2014, Berry performed once a month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant in St. Louis.

He made a surprise announcement on his 90th birthday, on 18 October 2016, that he was planning to release his first studio album in almost 40 years. The album – called “Chuck” – was scheduled for release in June 2017.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/arts/chuck-berry-dead.html?emc=edit_th_20170319&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=72405193&_r=0

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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