Rock & Roll Legend Chuck Berry Dies at 90 

Chuck Berry, the legendary “Father of Rock ’N’ Roll,” died at his home in Missouri on Saturday, said police in St. Charles County, just north of St. Louis.

He was 90 years old.

The composer and guitar innovator was known for the hits “Johnny B. Goode,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “My Ding-a-Ling,” “Maybellene” and “Sweet Little Sixteen” — chart-toppers that endure to this day.

The St. Charles Police Department said on its Facebook page that cops responded to a report of a medical emergency at Berry’s home at 12:40 p.m.

“Inside the home, first responders observed an unresponsive man and immediately administered lifesaving techniques,” the police posting said.

“Unfortunately, the 90-year-old man could not be revived and was pronounced deceased at 1:26 p.m.”

Police confirmed Berry’s identity and said his family requested privacy.

Berry was a major influence on generations of musicians, particularly on early rockabilly stars such as Jerry Lee Lewis and British Invasion bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Berry’s music mixed blues and rhythm-and-blues, but had crossover appeal with white teens because his lyrics touched on what biography.com called “the universal themes of youth.”

“I made records for people who would buy them,” Berry once explained. “No color, no ethnic, no political — I don’t want that, never did.”

“He was singing good lyrics, and intelligent lyrics, in the ’50s when people were singing, ‘Oh, baby, I love you so,’ ” John Lennon once observed. … (read more)

Source: New York Post