7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7and guest appearances by Keith Richards and Bruce
Springsteen.
Berry is undeniably one of the most influential figures
in the history of rock music. In helping to create rock and
roll from the crucible of rhythm and blues, he combined
clever lyrics, distinctive guitar sounds, boogie-woogie
rhythms, precise diction, an astounding stage show, and
musical devices characteristic of country western music
and the blues in his many best-selling single records and
albums. A distinctive if not technically dazzling guitarist,
Berry used electronic effects to replicate the ringing
sounds of bottleneck blues guitarists in his recordings. He
drew upon a broad range of musical genres in his composi-
tions, displaying an especially strong interest in Caribbean
music on “Havana Moon” (1957) and “Man and the Donkey”
(1963), among others. Influenced by a wide variety of
artists—including guitar players Carl Hogan, Charlie
Christian, and T-Bone Walker and vocalists Nat King
Cole, Louis Jordan, and Charles Brown—Berry played a
major role in broadening the appeal of rhythm-and-blues
music during the 1950s. He fashioned his lyrics to appeal
to the growing teenage market by presenting vivid and
humorous descriptions of high-school life, teen dances,
and consumer culture. Many popular-music performers
have recorded Berry’s songs.
An appropriate tribute to Berry’s centrality to rock
and roll came when his song “Johnny B. Goode” was among
the pieces of music placed on a copper phonograph record
attached to the side of the Voyager 1 satellite, hurtling
through outer space, in order to give distant or future
civilizations a chance to acquaint themselves with the
culture of the planet Earth in the 20th century. In 1984
he was presented with a Grammy Award for lifetime
achievement. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1986.