[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 5, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO THE LATE CHUCK BERRY, THE FATHER OF ROCK N' ROLL

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                           HON. WM. LACY CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2017

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a legendary American 
musical genius;
   An inaugural member of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame;
   And a former neighbor and friend of the Clay family for six decades 
. . .
   The father of Rock n' Roll; the immortal Chuck Berry.
   Mr. Berry, a legendary singer, songwriter and guitarist who created 
the original American art form that would come to be known as Rock n' 
Roll, died on March 18 at the age of 90.
   He began singing in the Antioch Baptist Church choir in St. Louis 
when he was just six years old.
   In 1952, when jazz pianist Johnnie Johnson lost his saxophonist, 
Alvin Bennett, to a stroke on Christmas Eve, he called on Mr. Berry to 
join the Sir John Trio.
   The group played at the famed Cosmopolitan Club in East St. Louis. 
Although he was a new guitarist, Mr. Berry added vocals and showmanship 
to the group and was soon its leader.
   During a 1955 visit to Chicago, legendary Blues man Muddy Waters 
suggested that Berry should reach out to Leonard Chess at Chess 
Records.
   Mr. Berry sent him four demos; one was his iconic single . . . 
Maybellene. He got the contract.
   The high-octane Maybellene became his first hit single.
   As the civil rights movement was awakening the nation to the 
struggle for justice and equality for African Americans, Chuck Berry's 
music smashed the color barrier. He was one of the first Black artists 
to become as popular with white audiences as he was with Black 
audiences.
   In 1958, he did an ode to teenage-hood: Sweet Little Sixteen. It 
grabbed the No. 1 spot on the R&B chart and No. 2 on the pop chart.
   Then came Johnny B. Goode, his anthem that was part autobiography, 
part tribute to his piano player, Johnny Johnson. It's about a poor 
country boy with a gift for playing the guitar and dreams of someday 
seeing his name up in lights ``saying Johnny B. Goode tonight.''
   In 1987, his self-titled autobiography was published and the 
enduring documentary film about his life, Hail! Hail! Rock n' Roll, was 
released.
   Mr. Berry appeared as himself in the 1978 film, American Hot Wax, 
and performed at the Carter White House in 1979.
   A career that transcended hate and racism, and outlasted hardship, 
began winning long-overdue recognition in the '80s.
   In 1985, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was 
inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame.
   In 1986, after more than 40 years in show business, Chuck Berry was 
inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame as a member of its 
inaugural class.
   Two years later, Chuck Berry received his star on St. Louis' Walk of 
Fame.
   In 2011 . . . a larger than life statue of Mr. Berry was installed 
near his star, across the street from the world-famous Blueberry Hill 
on Delmar Boulevard in the heart of my Congressional District.
   The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many other world-class groups 
owe their success to the innovative genius of Chuck Berry.
   Mr. Berry's most recent award, the Polar Music Prize, aptly stated: 
``Every riff and solo played by rock guitarists over the last 60 years 
contains DNA that can be traced right back to Chuck Berry.''
   Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born Oct. 18, 1926 in St. Louis' 
historic Ville neighborhood. He was the fourth of Martha Bell Banks 
Berry and Henry William Berry Sr.'s six children.
   Mr. Berry is survived by his wife, Themetta, and his four children, 
Ingrid Berry, Melody Eskridge, Aloha Isa Leigh Berry and Charles Berry 
Jr.
   On behalf of the Clay family, I want to express our deepest 
condolences to our old friends . . . the Berry family.
   And on behalf of music fans everywhere, I want to give thanks for 
the life of this legendary artist . . . whose legacy and unique sound 
will live on for generations to come.
   A true St. Louis legend and an American treasure . . . Chuck Berry.

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