Chuck Berry - one of rock's greatest guitarists?

Many would nominate Jimi Hendrix. I love Jimi but I think that Chuck is just as important and influential. Jimi brilliantly re-invented rock guitar - but it was Chuck who did the groundwork.

When I was younger, I used to think that any rock music not influenced by Chuck Berry wasn't worth listening to. It's an overstatement of course but there is more than a grain of truth in it. Listing all the artists who either covered or were influenced by Chuck reads like a who's who of rock greats - Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, The Sex Pistols, The Clash etc. Arguably, any rock artist who has short punchy songs owes something to Chuck.

It's hard to imagine a music world in which Chuck Berry didn't exist. Along with Elvis, Buddy and Little Richard he is one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. Those guys (and a few others) opened the floodgates and in doing so gave us some of the most thrilling records ever made - 50s rock n roll has a primal energy that has never really been surpassed.

Some say that Chuck only wrote 3 or 4 songs and just recycled the same riffs over and over. That may be true but those 3 or 4 songs are some of the greatest ever written. Look at his catalogue - Maybellene, Roll over Beethoven, You Can't Catch Me, School Days, Rock n Roll Music, Sweet Little Sixteen, Johnny B Goode, Around and Around, Carol, Almost Grown, Little Queenie, Back in the USA, Memphis Tennessee, Let it Rock, Come On, No Particular Place to Go, Promised Land etc. A golden decade indeed.

Chuck's genius was to borrow some old blues licks, speed them up and adapt them into the style that we now call rock. And then there are his lyrics. Chuck isn't called the poet laureate of rock n roll for nothing! Some of the best lyrics ever written about the teenage experience.

Chuck was rock's first guitar hero and is IMHO still the best - even his duck walk has been much imitated.

Here's a great (mimed) performance of one of my favourite Chuck songs. The guitar break at the end is as good as it gets:



So, any other Chuck fans on here? Do you agree that he is one of rock's greatest guitarists?

 

Yes

 

Absolutely. Also one of the greatest innovators in general. The way he played his guitar "straight" (rhythmically) while Johnnie Johnson swung on the piano was huge. And he took blues licks and turned them into something new. As far as I can tell, he's the guy who turned rock & roll from a sub-genre of R&B or rockabilly into something unique.

 

Definitely one of rock's greatest guitarists, even only looking at how influential he was to the kids who would soon grow up to launch the British Invasion.

 

Chuck Berry was a pioneer of the rock ‘n’ roll guitar. That’s what counts. He created a landmark and millions of others followed in his footsteps. Standing on the shoulder of a giant, indeed.

Technically, he was probably quite bad.
So what? I’ll rather listen to Chuck Berry playing the guitar, than some wonderkid playing endless runs.

 

Definitely he's one of them.

 

For influence, at least on the rock and roll bands I love most, he is likely the greatest guitarist ever, yes.

 

And if you paid Chuck in cold hard cash, he'd agree with you 100%...

Seriously: Of course, he is one of the greatest guitarists in rock and roll. Because if anyone can claim the title of who invented "rock and roll" guitar playing, it is Chuck. And "Johnny B Goode" tells the story better than anything else.

 

Damn right!

 

Chuck was very clever.
Even when asked about his playing, he was pretty candid about it.
He talked about his many influences over the years and how he developed his style.
'a litte T-Bone Walker, little Glenn Miller, little Johnnie Johnson..... a bit of poetry, a bit of country music .....etc etc'
His fusion of everything, has become the reason we are still talking about him.
One of Rock's greatest guitarists? YES!!!
What he did, he did great!
Over the years, I do think he got a bit lazy and didn't develop it much.....
Did he have to? Probably not, because he became a showman.
It's been known that he would turn up to a show, and not even bother to tune his guitar.
Nit-picking....
Even the famous duck walk was something he didn't invent, but an old vaudeville style charade that
he used and adapted for his own.
He came along at the right time, and was the guy that put it all together.
Can't imagine a world of Rock n Roll without him.

 

Great influencer, songwriter, poet, performer... Average guitarist.

 

Chuck's primary contribution was to use the two string rhythm riff. That was new to Rock. He was a talented rhythm guitarist but not a lead guitarist.

Those are different skills

 

On a similar note, one could say that Paul McCartney wasn't a great bass PLAYER. He certainly could compose some amazing bass lines, but his technical skills were average to below average.

It all depends on what you are looking to define a instrumentalist by.

 

Definitely, I would think he was rock's first great guitarist.

 

I think his songwriting was more innovative. When I hear his guitar playing I think of Carl Hogan and T-Bone Walker.

 

The guy introduced the 'cool' into what a guitar player could accomplish.
Great entertainer!

 

He is the REAL King of Rock and Roll... just about everyone in the 60s and early 70s were either playing his songs or guitarists copying his style. It was Bob Seger who wrote and sang the lyric: "All of Chuck's children are out there, playing his licks."

He was our first real and prolific Rock and Roll poet. We must do our best to never let his legacy slip from R&Rs memory.

 

Sure and country influenced (and vice versa) and a great boxed set (Bear Family).

 

Yeah no other guitar player used those "two string rhythm riffs" in their leads.

 

"Hello Chuck? This is your cousin, MARVIN Berry. You know that new sound you been lookin' for? Well listen to this!!"

And to the OP, yes. List 10 of your favorite rock songs. Odds are at least one of the ten will have a Chuck Berry riff.

 

In my mind, when it comes to the guitar, there is Chuck Berry and then everyone else.

I am 50 years old and my dad was/is a huge Chuck Berry fan. I can remember being a little kid and
my dad would play the London Sessions and I would dance around the room wondering how this guy
knew my name (John) and was telling me to be good. I must have been around 4 years old.

When I got older my Dad told me how he played with Chuck at M.I.T. spring weekend, either 1967 or
1968. The promotor didn't have a band for Chuck and my dad's band had played earlier in the day so
they picked my Dad's band. My dad met Chuck and they took off in a Cadillac (with pistols for door
handles) and went to the liquor store and also stopped to get some guitar strings, and then they went
and did the show. My dad was crusing around with Chuck and got to play with him. Too cool!

My dad has Chucks autograph on his draft card. I'm not a big autograph guy but I've made it clear to
my dad when he passes I want that card.

I got to see Chuck once in 2003. He was past his prime but it didn't matter. Just hearing him play was
good enough for me.

Long live Chuck Berry!

 

Before Chuck, the primary R&R instrument was the sax. So, based on that influence alone, yes, he is one of the greatest guitarists ever. Add in all the riffs that have become a part of our musical language & it's obvious.

Facts are facts, Chuck Berry & Little Richard invented R&R as we think of it. I still listen to them, Jerry Lee Lewis & Fats Domino regularly, & I came along after they made their major impact on music.

 

Right on! He created a lot of his licks by listening hard to Johnnie Johnson. He also liked to try to emulate typical R&B horn sections with his guitar. Chuck was cheap baby! Didn’t want to pay a horn section!

 

Well said and on the mark.
T Bone was a big influence on him.
Chuck was kind of the opposite to Elvis in a way....Elvis took country and add a blues flavor.....Chuck took the blues and added country flavor. Hit those target notes Chuck and make it sound country.

 

Not the greatest, but a truly great, great guitar player.