Chuck Berry
1953–2017
01
Ida Red
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys (1938) → Chuck Berry (1955)
The same folk skeleton runs from the Western swing dance tune "Ida Red" to the electric-guitar-driven rock and roll of "Maybellene."
Borrowed chord skeleton2-beat to 8-beatStory-song to teen story+1
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02
Maybellene
Chuck Berry (1955) → Johnny Rivers (1964)
The moment a folk-song skeleton met an electric guitar riff and completed the archetype of rock and roll.
Double-stop riffEven 8-beatTeenage story+1
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03
Back in the U.S.A.
Chuck Berry (1959) → Linda Ronstadt (1978)
Chuck Berry's 1959 tribute to American consumer culture and everyday life, energetically reimagined by Linda Ronstadt on her 1978 hit album Living in the U.S.A.
Rhythmic ModernizationGuitar ArticulationVocal Authority
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04
Rock and Roll Music
Chuck Berry (1957) → The Beatles (1964)
Chuck Berry's 1957 foundational manifesto of rock and roll, reignited with visceral beat-group power by The Beatles on their 1964 album Beatles for Sale.
From R&B Swing to Driving Straight-Eight BeatVisceral Screaming Vocal DeliveryPounding Twin-Piano Backing
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