In 1977, NASA sent two Voyager probes into space with a gold-plated record on board. The record was meant to give anyone who found it a sample of life on Earth, and the music on it includes Bach, Beethoven, and songs from around the world. Only one of those songs is rock and roll.
Its writer was born 100 years ago today, on Oct. 18, 1926, in St. Louis.
Chuck Berry recorded “Johnny B. Goode” in 1958. Almost 50 years after the Voyagers launched, a copy of it is still out there with them.
Rolling Stone Ranks Him the No. 2 Guitarist of All Time
In October 2023, Rolling Stone put Berry at No. 2 on its list of the 250 greatest guitarists. The magazine wrote that he “didn’t just invent rock & roll guitar — he perfected it.”
Rolling Stone had also ranked him No. 5 on its list of the 100 greatest artists, in 2004 and again in 2011.
Berry wrote his own songs, built them around short guitar riffs, and was known on stage for the “duckwalk.” His first hit, “Maybellene,” went to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart in 1955.
He Was in the Rock Hall’s First Class
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held its first induction ceremony in New York on Jan. 23, 1986. That night, Berry was inducted alongside Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Keith Richards gave the speech for him. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Richards said, “I lifted every lick he ever played.”
‘Johnny B. Goode’ and His Only No. 1
“Johnny B. Goode” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Men’s Journal recently looked at where it sits among the greatest guitar solos of all time.
Berry’s only Hot 100 No. 1 came in 1972, with a live recording of the novelty song “My Ding-a-Ling.”
The CHUCK100 Celebration
Berry died on March 18, 2017, at 90, at his home in Missouri. Since 2024, his family and Isalee Music have been running CHUCK100, a series of releases and events in St. Louis that leads up to his 100th birthday today.
