Six facts to know about rock ‘n’ roll trailblazer Chuck Berry
Six facts to know about rock ‘n’ roll trailblazer Chuck Berry Chuck Berry, who duck-walked his way into the pantheon of rock ‘n’ roll pioneers as one of its most influential guitarists and lyricists, creating raucous anthems that defined the genre’s sound and heartbeat, died on Saturday at his Missouri home. He was 90. Here are six facts about Berry: 1) Before music, Berry worked as a carpenter, a freelance photographer, auto plant janitor and hairdresser. 2) Despite writing several rock ‘n’ roll classics, Berry’s only No. 1 song was 1972’s “My Ding-a-Ling,” a live recording of a novelty song he had written years earlier. Many radio stations refused to play it because of its bawdy nature. 3) Berry’s trouble with the law started early. A teenage Berry ended up in reform school for armed robbery. He went to prison in 1962 for violating the Mann Act (transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes) after a teenage girl, who he met in Texas and hir...