On May 21, 1955, a new sound came from Universal Recording Studios in Chicago. A 29-year-old guitarist from St. Louis ripped through his new song. It told the story of a man driving his 1934 V8 Cadillac as he chased an unfaithful girlfriend.
The guitar was distorted, the rhythm was heavy, and when it was released that July, it was an immediate hit. Kids wanted songs with energy and a big beat—and it was about fast cars, young love, and sex. With his very first single, Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” became one of the pioneering songs of rock ’n’ roll.
Berry would continue to crank out songs like “Roll Over Beethoven,” “You Can’t Catch Me,” and “Johnny B. Goode.”
There were other songs, too—songs that might be seen as problematic today: “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Almost Grown,” and “Little Queenie.”
Chuck Berry is known as the godfather of rock ’n’ roll. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, everyone in the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and AC/DC have all been very vocal about how Berry influenced them. He was rock’s first guitar hero, and he was among the first group of musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
But if we dig into his life, we’ll find that he was often in trouble with the law—robbery, tax evasion, assault, a hidden camera in a women’s restroom, and more.
This is episode 53 of Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. This time, we’re looking at the accusations leveled against, and the crimes committed by, the man who helped invent rock ’n’ roll.
In addition to the podcasts, you can hear Uncharted on these Corus radio stations (all times local):
- Toronto: AM 640 (4-5am)
- London: 980 CFPL (4-5am)
- Vancouver: 730 CKNW (1-2am)
- Edmonton: 630 CHED (1-2am)
- Calgary: QR77 (770 AM) (1-2am)
- Winnipeg: 680 CJOB (1-2am)
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