Rock and roll was born with Chuck Berry. Prior to Berry the evolution of the new popular music, the convergence of country and blues, was moving at a slow pace, and although acceptance of the black musician by the white audience had been positively established, a figure able to function as a catalyst, namely a person capable of putting together the demands of the moment, both artistic and social, was still missing. From the moment that Chuck Berry shouldered his cherry red Gibson, the guitar would never again be the same instrument. His explosive riffs would blow away established orders - first musical and then social - that had survived two world wars. Few revolutions have been faster, more thorough or more widespread. Those riffs electrified millions of white kids. Berry sang suggestively about adolescent love, and from that moment on song lyrics would never be the same. He set a rhythm for the music of the American youth, a rhythm that would continue to accelerate. Whether or not Chuck Berry invented rock and roll, he was its first composer and its first poet.

A Saint Louis native with a degree in cosmetology, Chuck Berry learned his technique from Charlie Christian and T Bone Walker. He modeled his vocal style after Nat King Cole and the "shouters" of blues. Schooled in the electric blues of Chicago after years of apprenticeship in St. Louis with pianist Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry debuted at thirty (married, with two children), thanks to a recommendation by Muddy Waters that got him in with the prestigious Chess Recording Company.

The explosion of rock and roll, followed by the movies of Haley and Presley, pushed recording houses to launch singers ever more daring. Berry was just the ticket, musically (his roots were in the blues, with a little contamination from country) and socially (he was black, and a "famous" black was highly provocative).

From the very moment he burst on the scene his popularity with white kids skyrocketed. Musically, nobody was as exciting. Berry was famous for his "duck walk" during his live shows, and for the rough chords that practically shattered rockabilly. Berry's renunciation of melisma (singing several notes on one syllable) rendered his songs easily accessible to the white public.

Poetically he was by far the most educated blues artist (he was the first to introduce regular rhymes) and the most sensible to cultural changes. His songs, tales of adolescents in search of freedom, were told with irony. Chuck Berry was the first to understand the importance of having fun in music. "To have fun" for the kids meant rebellion - "to have fun" with the job or with family, "to have fun" with authoritarianism, with bigotry, with reality. Berry understood; not only did he add exuberance to his text, but he did it freely and easily.

Between 1955 and 1958 he wrote several rock and roll masterpieces. His career unfolded in a thrilling progression: from the swinging, carefree country of Maybelline, with its stunningly fast and shrill guitar solo, to the ferocious and sardonic anthem of revolt Roll Over Beethoven, with its lively opening and enthusiastic boogie piano; from his exquisitely satirical takes on American life, Too Much Monkey Business, Thirty Days, and No Money Down, to the immortal anthem Rock And Roll Music; from the exuberant celebrations of adolescent fun, Sweet Little Sixteen, School Days, and Almost Grown, to the autobiographical narration Johnny B. Goode, where he celebrates himself as the first rock and roll hero. And later on, there was Carol, Memphis, Around And Around, Back In The USA and many others.

Chuck Berry, the brilliant, masterful, impertinent voice of the blues, single-handedly invented a rhythm made of alternating chords reminiscent of the boldness of honkytonk piano, complimented by short musical phrases that defy all harmonic convention, accompanied by a piano, played by the great Johnny Johnson, that sounds completely extraneous to the melody.

Maybelline was conceived in the wake of Haley's success, and adapted to the typical black sound of rolling drums and locomotive rhythm. Maybellene was an odd blend of country, boogie and jazz. Instead, the intensely syncopated School Days was completely saturated in the black tradition from the beginning. But it was Rock And Roll Music, with its dizzying syncopated jump, and the roughness of R&B (albeit toned down), with a barely noticeable sax, an orderly bass and an indolent piano that jumps here and there, that gave up all pretense and called the people on to the dance floor. And it was the pulsating bass and the coarse singing in Sweet Little Sixteen that reestablished the compromise between piano boogie, Berry's free and easy style and white taste. The breathtaking intro of Johnny B. Goode, the epitome of twenty years of hard rock, with its riffs and its guitar solos, and, as usual, Johnson's piano, along with the vehement progressions in Roll Over Beethoven and Carol, loudly shouted over the notes of a mesmerizing boogie piano, gave rock and roll its ultimate propulsion. But perhaps the real Chuck Berry is to be found in Memphis, Tennessee, a sinister and obsessive piece in which the Jimmy Reed inspired rhythm creates a tense atmosphere, and an ambiguous text suggests a relationship between the protagonist and a six years old girl. He was also the first guitarist to realize that the sound of the guitar changed as the performer moved on stage, to realize that wild movements on stage was not only crowd-pleasing but also sound-enhancing.

In 1959, in a trial that lasted two years, Chuck Berry was sentenced to two years for rape (he had already served a three-year sentence for theft as a juvenile). By the time he got out of prison the Mersey Beat had replaced rock and roll: the Beatles were selling millions of copies of Roll Over Beethoven, the Stones had debuted with Come On, the Beach Boys had adapted Sweet Little Sixteen and Johnny B. Goode was being handed down from band to band.

After his prison experience Berry seemed to have become more cynical and less artistic. He exploited his fame for economic means as he had never done before, not even during the golden years of rock and roll, as in No Particular Place To Go (1964), and managed to reach the top of the charts with an obscene nursery rhyme: My Ding-a-ling (1972). In 1979 his career was once again grounded by the law. He served three months in jail, this time for tax evasion.

Berry's opus was fundamental in freeing rock and roll from the fetters of conformity, giving to it its true revolutionary status. Whereas Haley was a jovial fat man who arrived first by pure coincidence, and Presley wore the consumerist mask that the WASPs wanted to give to rock and roll, Berry, as well as being the composer of dozens of stunning pieces which posterity is still tapping, must be considered rock's first great musician. Thanks to his playing, rock music took a qualitative leap. Chuck Berry was the first to convey the profane nature of rock and roll; he led its departure from the ethics of country and from the religious fervor of gospel.

Chuck Berry represents the meeting point between the white teenager and the black American, which is the heart of matter for rock and roll. He showed the rare ability, before Dylan, to manipulate the alienation and the spirit of rebellion of teenagers by tapping into their psyche.

The fusion of popular folklore and youth culture is the very essence of his three masterpieces. Rock And Roll Music, the most precise and exhaustive definition of the style and spirit of rock and roll, describes in folksy lingo the first encounter with rock and roll, and the scene, garnished with terms such as "jubilee", "jamboree" and "mambo", is so persuasive that one feels part of an outdoors party at mid-century. Sweet Little Sixteen attracts the audience by resorting to the traditional expedient of narrating nondescript places in which everybody can recognize both home and themselves, thus identifying with the song. Johnny B. Goode deals with a traditional theme in American culture, that of the provincial young man who moves to the city and makes it big ("go go go Johnny go/ go Johnny B. Goode").

From the black musical tradition and the social concerns of white teens, Berry was able to invent a style that fused the elementary, effective chords of the blues to the speed of country, amplified to create a new sound.

Nato in California, cresciuto nel Missouri e diplomato in cosmetica, dotato di una tecnica chitarristica appresa da Charlie Christian e da T Bone Walker e di una grinta vocale modellata su Nat King Cole e sugli urlatori blues, educato alla scuola del blues elettrico di Chicago dopo anni di apprendistato a St Louis in compagnia del pianista Johnnie Johnson (l'uomo che lo aveva assunto e che sarebbe rimasto il suo pianista), Chuck Berry esordi` nel 1955, all'eta` di trent'anni (gia` sposato e padre di due figli), grazie a una raccomandazione di Muddy Waters, per la prestigiosa Chess degli omonimi fratelli.

L'esplosione del rock and roll seguita ai film di Haley e Presley stava spingendo le case discografiche a lanciare cantanti sempre piu` audaci. Berry lo era sia nel senso musicale (veniva dal blues, con poche contaminazioni country) e sia nel senso sociale (era nero, e un nero famoso poteva rappresentare il culmine della provocazione).

Dal momento in cui irruppe sulla scena la sua popolarita` crebbe vertiginosamente presso i giovani bianchi. Musicalmente nessuno era trascinante quanto lui (celebre, nelle esibizioni dal vivo, il "passo d'oca", e caratteristici gli accordi grezzi che sconvolsero il sound del rockabilly), e la rinuncia al melisma rendeva il suo canto facilmente accessibile al pubblico bianco.

Poeticamente fu di gran lunga il piu` colto (fu il primo a introdurre la rima regolare) e il piu` sensibile al mutare dei costumi. Le sue canzoni raccontavano con ironia storie di adolescenti in cerca di liberta'. Berry fu il primo a capire l'importanza del "fun". "Fun" era cio` che voleva dire in pratica la ribellione giovanile, "fun" contro famiglia e lavoro, "fun" contro autoritarismo, contro moralita` bigotta, contro la realta'. E Berry non manco` mai di curare il lato esuberante dei suoi testi, il piglio scanzonato e irridente.

Tra il 1955 e il 1958 scrisse molti capolavori del rock and roll. La sua carriera si svolse in una progressione esaltante. Dal country swingante e scanzonato di Maybelline (1955), che stupi` per l'assolo veloce e squillante alla chitarra elettrica, al feroce sardonico inno di rivolta contenuto metaforicamente nello slogan, nell'attacco travolgente e nell'impeto piano-boogie di Roll Over Beethoven (1956), dalle satire squisitamente umoristiche di vita americana di Too Much Monkey Business (1956), Thirty Days (1955), No Money Down (1955), all'anthem Rock And Roll Music (1957), dalle esuberanti celebrazioni del fun adolescenziale di Sweet Little Sixteen (1958), School Day (1957), con batteria funambolica di Fred Below, Almost Grown (1958), all'autobiografismo romanzato di Johnny B. Goode del 1958 (dove celebra in se stesso il primo eroe del rock and roll). Piu' Carol (1958), Memphis Tennessee, Around And Around, Back In The USA (1959), e tante altre. After School Session (Chess, 1958) fu il suo primo album, e l'ultimo all'altezza della sua fama. One Dozen Berrys (1958), Is On Top (1959), Rockin' At The Hops (1960), New Juke Box Hits (1961) furono via via piu` deludenti.

Berry, prepotente, brillante, sfrontata voce blues, invento` un ritmo fatto da un'alternanza di accordi chitarristici che riprendeva la baldanza dello stile pianistico da bar, complicato ad libitum da figure chitarristiche che sfidano senza scrupoli le convenzioni armoniche e accompagnato da un piano (il grande Johnny Johnson) che pare del tutto estraneo all'armonia del brano.

Maybellene era stato in effetti concepito sulla scia dei successi di Haley, seppur suonato con foga tipicamente nera (la batteria rullante, il richiamo ritmico della ferrovia). Maybellene era un curioso misto di country, boogie e jazz. Il ritmo pesante a singhiozzo di School Day era invece gia` immerso al cento per cento nella musica di colore. Il vertiginoso jump sincopato di Rock And Roll Music, pur limando le asperita` del rhythm and blues (un sax appena accennato, un piano che saltella senza nerbo, figure di basso ordinate), gettava definitivamente la maschera e invitava a danze scatenate. Mentre il basso pulsante e il canto a voce spiegata di Sweet Litle Sixteen ristabilivano un compromesso fra il boogie pianistico, il suo stile scanzonato e il gusto dei bianchi. E l'attacco mozzafiato di Johnny B. Goode, l'epitome di vent'anni di hard-rock, con una serie di riff e assoli chitarristici (e boogie pianistico del solito Johnson), impresse al rock la propulsione dell'ultimo stadio. Cosi` le veementi progressioni di Roll Over Beethoven e Carol, urlate a squarciagola su un vorticoso ritmo boogie. Ma forse il vero Chuck Berry si trova in Memphis Tennessee, un brano sinistro e ossessivo in cui un ritmo alla Jimmy Reed crea un'atmosfera tesa e un testo oscuro racconta il rapporto fra il protagonista e una bambina di sei anni. Quella cadenza, unita a un clapping nello stile del gospel e al tempo del blues, ne fa un saggio sul ritmo. Berry fu anche il primo chitarrista a capire che il suono della chitarra cambiava quando il chitarrista si muoveva sul palco, il primo a rendersi conto che movimenti selvaggi sul palco non solo galvanizzavano la folla ma anche contribuivano al sound.

Nel 1959 Berry, accusato di violenza carnale, fu condannato, dopo due anni di processo, a due anni di carcere (era gia` stato tre anni in riformatorio per un furto compiuto a quattordici anni). Quando usci` di prigione al posto del rock and roll c'era il beat: i Beatles che vendevano milioni di copie di Roll Over Beethoven, i rolling Stones che debuttavano con Come On, i Beach Boys che plagiavano Sweet Little Sixteen, e Johnny B. Goode che passava di mano in mano.

Dopo l'esperienza del carcere Berry sembro` diventare piu` cinico e meno artista. Seppe sfruttare la sua fama a fini economici come non gli era riuscito neppure negli anni d'oro del rock and roll (No Particular Place To Go, 1964), e raggiunse persino il primo posto delle classifiche americane con una filastrocca oscena: My Ding-a-ling (1972). Ma nel 1979 la sua carriera venne di nuovo affossata dalla Giustizia, che lo condanno` a tre mesi di carcere per evasione fiscale.

La sua opera fu fondamentale per liberare il rock and roll dalle pastoie del conformismo e fargli assumere l'aspetto di vera musica di rottura. Al di la` del fatto di aver creato dei brani stupefacenti a cui i posteri attingono a piene mani, per il salto di qualita` rappresentato dal suo modo di far musica lo si deve considerare il primo grande musicista del rock, laddove Haley era stato soltanto un simpatico grassone arrivato primo quasi per caso e Presley era stato la maschera consumista che i WASP volevano dare al rock and roll. In Berry si coglie per la prima volta il carattere profano del rock & roll, lo stacco netto rispetto all'etica del country e al fervore religioso del gospel.

Berry rappresenta il punto d'incontro fra la civilta` del teenager bianco e quella dei neri americani, che e` poi il nocciolo del rock and roll. Dimostro` un'abilita` unica (prima di Dylan) nell'esplorare la psiche degli adolescenti, nel manipolare le loro alienazioni e il loro istinto di ribellione.

La fusione fra il folklore popolare e i costumi giovanili e` proprio l'essenza dei tre maggiori capolavori. Rock And Roll Music racconta in linguaggio popolaresco il primo incontro con il rock and roll, e sembra di assistere ad un party all'aperto del primo Novecente, tanto e` colorita e persuasiva la scena, infiorettata di termini come "jubilee", "jamboree", "mambo", eccetera (questo brano e` anche la piu` precisa ed esauriente definizione dello spirito e dello stile del rock & roll). Sweet Little Sixteen usa un espediente tradizionale per attirare l'attenzione del pubblico lontano, quello di citare nel testo diversi luoghi in modo apologetico, sperando che gli abitanti di quei posti si identifichino nella canzone. E Johnny B. Goode tratta un altro tema tradizionale della cultura popolare americana: il ragazzo del paese che fa carriera nella grande citta' ("go go go Johnny go/ go Johnny B. Goode").

Dalla tradizione nera e dagli stimoli provenienti dai teenager bianchi, Berry seppe anche ricavare uno stile chitarristico che univa gli elementari ed efficaci accordi blues alla velocita` del country e ad un'aperta amplificazione.