An original architect of rock 'n' roll, Chuck Berry's towering influence spans borders and decades. Playing the guitar with easy brilliance, the Missouri native used blues riffs, country twang, and rolling rhythms of R&B to pioneer the new sound of rock 'n' roll in the early-'50s. Berry's lyrics about rip-roaring good times and youthful rebellion crossed the rigid racial barriers of his era, and sparked a musical revolution that forever changed the world.