Chuck Berry

this man is rock and roll, period. don't judge an icon by his personel life, or one song that you don't like. chuck was way ahead of everyone else back in '55, and he's still out there having fun, that's what rock is all about!

A real jerk who practically invented rock & roll guitar. Legendary.

Chuck was the shizznit

Chuck is great.

Crap guitarist, great songwriter. Huge ego.

I suspect his low rating on this list has a lot to do with the fact that most of the people reviewing music on RIA are cretins who think anything recorded eight months ago is "old school" and regard commercial crap spoonfed to them by marketing shills as great art. Berry was an innovative pioneer, one of the true legends of rock, and is an intriguing listen to anyone with an ounce of taste. Or sense.

He's not a classic rock and roll musician.  He's one of the pioneers of the genre, the true King.  The fact he's on this list, and so low-rated, is yet another example of Rateitall mental retardation and the dread Taste Up The Butt Syndrome of many of its posters.  Berry, more effectively than anyone else, transitioned from post-war rhythm and blues into the new genre that the white kids co-opted to be their own.  He wrote some pretty damn good songs, sang adequately well, and was the greatest early rock guitar player.  His influence on later guitarists is pervading.  Of course, he became a bitter and strange weirdster later on in life, but, that often happens to performers once their salad days are over.  Now, at 82, he's still out there doing it, on some level, but you have to wonder why.

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'." John Lennon

great original style...gateway guitarist...

dont overfill your containers or try to pack the 'berries' down. Please see general picking tips.

Without Chuck Berry , this list would be about polkas!

Good for his time

A bit b4 my time but the duck walk is still classic.

Chuck Berry was there at the beginning of rock and roll.  He wrote catchy songs with some excellent lyrics.  I especially like "Roll over Beethoven" and "Maybelline".  All these years later, they still are welcome bursts of energy.

Not a big fan but still a hell of a guitarist

Only because he's the gosfather of Rock-n-Roll. Genius

Johnny b. goode? of course

One of the greatest performers of all-time.

great licks and only couple of good songs but he brought the harder style to rock which i applaud--before my time lol

Same riffs different keys... can't deny he's fun and defined a new era.

Definitely one of the all time greats. The guitar riff in Johnny B. Goode is a classic.

He proved that you strip all of the excess of soloing and melody down to its most basic elements, give it a driving rythym and express volumes more than the most complex of jazz players.  There is something about a Chuck Berry riff that cuts through everything and hits you right in the Mojo.

He can play a guitar just like a-ringing a bell...

He started it all!

It must be really tough to be black back then. I give you a 4stars.

Chuck Berry should take the Number One Spot due to him being the most influential guitarist on every other great guitarist. He produced some great tunes also.

Well he was one of the first to get "that rock n' roll sound" - basically he sped up the blues. If it weren't for him, where would we be? I'm sure someone else would've come up with it eventually. Ted Nugent said it best "If you don't know a Chuck Berry lick, you don't know how to play rock guitar."

Chuck is the man

You're great Chuck. But your too much of an A-hole to be up there with the great ones. Thanks for being the real "King", but take your eyes off my sister.

Undoubtedly a rock icon. There would be no Stones, Beatles, Who ect without Berry.

I wouldn't say he invented it since old black dudes that we've never even heard of have been pickin' it in the South for ages. But he's definitely right up there. SIDE NOTE:- that's why I despise the notion that Cleveland invented Rock n' Roll. Back to Berry - didn't he teach Keith Richards how to play? Like literally, didn't he actually learn his craft from Berry? Or at least how to play the Blues? Yeah, Berry is the man. )))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))UPDATE: I wanna say something else about the Cleveland thing because it gets me so hot. For those who claim that, ALL American music came from the south. From jazz to blues, etc. From the Appalachians to New Orleans. And I don't say that because I'm from the South - it's just a fact. People in the South have been picking banjos, guitars, etc since before Cleveland knew these instruments existed. And really, I don't even like the notion that this or that form of music was simply invented. All music evolves from other m... Read more

he's the one who invented it!

The real king of rock and roll!

Every rock guitarist since should send Chuck 10% of what ever they make. A legend in his own time!

Pioneer of the classic guitarist image, and is just so damn cool!

Everyone from Keith Richards to the Sex Pistols to Joan Jett to Green Day owe a sizable chunk of their paychecks to this man. The ultimate showman, he was more than a guitarist, he was everything a performer could be - and still is. Roll over Beethoven!

asides from being a pervert, all his songs seem to have a similar simplistic 3 chord riffs

Chuck berry is good, but no guitar hero. Excellent songwriter, but i found his guitar parts to be less then adequate.

He's simply a true genius of popular music. He invented rock and roll culture and described the U.S.A. in a few lines better than anybody else. He was the first rock songwriter and has established the guitar as the icon of rock. He was too smart to be black in the 50's and he paid for the colour of his skin. For the same things he did a white was judged in a very different way. He would deserve more respect.

No doubt. He is the true king of rock music...The first and still the ultimate guitar hero.

Chuck Berry revolutionized rock guitar playing as we know it, and, in the process, became the most influential and widely imitated guitarist of all-time.

An innovator and first-rate showman.

He's the Godfather of Rock, what more can you say.

I just discovered Chuck Berry! How come no one told me about this genius! I love rock and roll!

a person who with time I blelieve is being forgotten a shame a true poet of rock and roll

He could be a four star but his too many run-ins with the law kind of tarnishes his legendary image.

While he is a classic, some of his songs... Well, he wrote a song called My Ding-a-ling. I can't in good faith give him a fourth star because of this song. I beleive it was supposed to be about a musical instrument, but even if that is true, am I safe in assuming that anybody could take this song out of context? I think so because I found a parody of this song on the internet entitled Good bye Ding-a-ling about John and Lorrena Bobbit.

chuck berry was waaaaayyyy over rated and is just an old pervert now

UH??

I like some of Chuck Berrys songs. such as Johnny B. Goode, Rock and Roll Music. He has a fairly good singing voice. but I really like the way he can play a guitar. For the 1950s his guitar music was groundbreaking for Rock N Roll.