roll over beethoven he was known as the father of rock n roll, chuck berry, died at the age of 90 years old. berry had a career spanning more than half a century with hits like sweet little 16, johnny be good and rock n roll music. his influence, his music and his performance style have been both widespread and enduring. music legends like elvis and the beatles covered his songs. chuck berry was one of the first inductees in the rock n roll hall of fame in 1986. he was rock s greatest practitioner, guitarist and the greatest pure rock n roll
reporter: chuck berry was one of the pioneers of rock n roll. his powerful guitar fueled hit songs such as johnny be good, maybelline and rollover beethoven. his music signaled a new era in o rock n roll. his ability to blend r&b and rock made a strong impact on the beatles. it is very difficult for me to talk about him. reporter: he experienced a career resurgence in the mid 80s and 90s. his music entered pop culture in films such as back to the future and pulp fix. he achieved a grammy achievement award in 1994 and became the rock n roll s first inductee.
than in one man. he was arrested, had battles with substance abuse. the music was the underlying passion. that rebellion against the system. he said, i lived in the middle, never got too high, never got too low with the career. he was still playing shows into the 80s. that gives you an idea how much that music meant to him, how much it stirred his soul and i think kept him young. thank you so much. next time we speak, it won t be, eve thoen this is even though, this is a celebration of chuck berry s life, it will not be after somebody s passing. i love that. i still have my johnny be good 45, by the way. we ll be right back after the break. if you have medicare
specifically, probably what you are listening to today, there has been some influence from him. absolutely. if you think about it, rock n roll music is rebellious music, revolutionary music. at the time that chuck berry and little richard oand other icons were formulating this type of anger and putting it into their music and telling where it came from. it speaks to everybody. you can be a reggae artist in jamaica that that guitar spoke to and you get some bob marley music. you could be english kids and the beatles are influenced, the stones are influenced, the who is influenced. the beach boys are hearing guitar licks from chuck berry and it is being woven into their music. chuck berry is the fabric of rock n roll. you don t have this music without him. that s fascinating. tell me about the revolutionary
music signaled a new era in rock n roll. his ability to blend r&b and rock made a strong impact on the beatles and the rolling stones. berry experienced a career resurgence in the mid 80s and 90s. his music re-entered pop culture in films such as back to the future and pulp fix. in 1984, he received a grammy lifetime achievement award and a year later, he became the rock n roll hall of fame first inductee. on the heels of his induction, the stones keith richards invited a roster of great mu x musicians to celebrate his birthday. he was humbled to receive a star on the hollywood walk of fame.