Chuck Berry, who duck-walked his wayinto the pantheon of rock´n´roll as one of its most influentialguitarists and the creator of raucous anthems that defined its
early sound and heartbeat, died on Saturday at his Missourihome.
He was 90.Police in St.Charles County, outside St.Louis, saidemergency responders called to Berry´s home found the performerunconscious and administered life-saving assistance to no avail.
He was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m.local time, police said.Although Elvis Presley was called the king of rock´n´roll,that crown would have fit just as well on the carefully sculptedpompadour of Charles Edward Anderson Berry.
He was present inrock´s infancy in the 1950s and emerged as its first starguitarist and lyricist.
Berry-composed hits such as "Johnny B. Goode," "Roll OverBeethoven," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Maybellene" and "Memphis"melded elements of blues, rockabilly and jazz into some ofAmerica´s most timeless pop songs of the 20th century.
He was a monumental influence on just about any kid whopicked up a guitar with rock star aspirations - Keith Richards,Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen among them.
Bob Dylan called Berry "the Shakespeare of rock´n´roll," andhe was one of the first popular acts to write as well as performhis own songs.
They focused on youth, romance, cars and goodtimes, with lyrics that were complex, humorous and sometimes alittle raunchy.
Both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as well as theBeach Boys and scores of others acts - even Elvis - coveredBerry´s songs.
"If you tried to give rock´n´roll another name," Lennon oncesaid, "you might call it ´Chuck Berry´."When Richards inducted Berry into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1986, he said: "It´s very difficult for me to talk aboutChuck Berry because I´ve lifted every lick he ever played.
Thisis the gentleman who started it all."Berry, who marked his 90th birthday in 2016 by announcing hewould release his first album in 38 years, listed T-Bone Walker,
Carl Hogan of Louis Jordan´s band and Charlie Christian fromBenny Goodman´s band as his guitar influences, but his lyricalstyle was all his own.
Punchy wordplay and youth-orientedsubject matter earned him the nickname "the eternal teenager"early in his career.
Berry came along at a time when much of the United Statesremained racially segregated, but it was hard for youngaudiences of any color to resist a performer who delivered sucha powerful beat with so much energy and showmanship.
Berry said he performed his signature bent-knee,head-bobbing "duck walk" across more than 4,000 concert stages.