Happy Birthday Chuck Berry
Bob Seger sang about “All of Chuck’s children out there, playing his licks,” 
in Rock and Roll Never Forgets. Having played guitar for years, learning on Chuck Berry licks, having played Johnny-B-Goode and Memphis Tennessee in public, I count myself among Chuck’s children.
But are we really his Children? His pupils is more like it. If Elvis is the King of Rock (And Michael the Prince of Pop), then Chuck Berry is the majordomo who showed us all how it’s done.
His original songs include Johnny B Goode, Rock and Roll Music, Sweet Little Sixteen, Roll Over Beethoven, School Days, Around and Around, Maybellene and No Particular Place to Go. And that’s just scratching the surface.
If anybody has been a more influential rock musician, I don’t know them (even if he did take Johnny B Goode from his cousin Marvin, who heard it from Marty McFly).
For all that, and for so much more, happy 80th birthday Chuck Berry.
Good to see there are some other blogger still into the 50s music. I believe Chuck Berry was quite inspirational in laying the foundations for future rock n rollers. Even the Beatles were greatly influenced by him. He also has lived to 80, which when one considers how many rock stars have died young, this is also quite something. Hopefully more will live to 80.