OPINION — Editorial

Hail, hail, Chuck Berry

Just as there are lots of things that are debatable in life, rock ‘n’ roll has been known to pit even best friends against each other when it comes to arguing the points of the music that changed America in the middle of the last century.

But the one incontrovertible fact that everyone agrees on when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll is that songwriter and guitarist Chuck Berry was one of its three most indispensable rockers during its formative years. Berry, who died Saturday at the age of 90, was the rocker who most captured the imagination of every rock performer who came after him. In fact, Chuck Berry inspired everyone from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townsend and Bruce Springsteen.

With the exception of a stint or two in jail, Chuck Berry never stopped touring till the end.

Berry outlived all of his major rivals for the title of King of Rock ‘n’ Roll except Little Richard, who is very much alive and still touring. Now, the title may fall to Little Richard because there will be no one left to dispute it. But whether by technicality or consensus, Chuck Berry was the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll while he was here.

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