Rock’s Rough Architect

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Before we talk about charts and riffs and influence, I want to begin with a memory.

Years ago, I saw Chuck Berry live at the Paramount Theatre in Manhattan.
I later learned that a few years after that, the Paramount Theater was completely shut down. Anyway, that night Chuck Berry was on a bill with The Animals and The Dixie Cups—a lineup that already told you how fast the musical world was changing. The British Invasion bands were arriving with their sharp suits and American R&B records tucked under their arms. In fact, the animals had the number one song in the country with the house of the rising Sun. And there were girl groups with immaculate harmonies. The Dixie Cups had the number two song in the country with chapel of love. Here was a crowd already fluent in the new language of pop.

And then one of rocks pioneers - Chuck Berry - walked onstage.

No elaborate light show, no army of amplifiers, no sentimental introduction. Just that stance, that sly half-smile, and a guitar tone as clean and cutting as a bell. You could feel the air in the room shift.

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