Chuck Berry: Most Influential Figure In The Rock And Roll Era

Listening Assignment 2 Chuck Berry is the most influential figure in the rock and roll era during the 1950s. He is considered the “Lord High Emperor” of rock especially since he established the first known rock song ever “Maybelline”. Berry’s music features vocal delivery that is prominently influenced by country music, which in fact he enjoyed. One of his most popular songs “Johnny B. Goode” shows elements of country music. This song also was written by Berry himself and features his trademark electric guitar, piano, acoustic bass, drums, and lead vocals. Another important characteristic of his music was the inclusion of the two-string boogie-woogie pattern that is evident in “Johnny B. Goode”. Like many of his songs he used the format

Like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley was known for his country music and rhythm and blues influences that were prominent in both their successes. Presley’s ties to country are impacted in the unique music he influenced: “rockabilly”. This style of music was done without the use of drums unlike Berry who used drums in many of his songs. The “rockabilly” style had Presley doing the lead singing with the accomplishment of his acoustic guitar, the bassist Bill Black playing the acoustic bass guitar and electric guitarist Scotty Moore. In the Elvis hit “That’s All Right (Mama)” produced by Sun Records we see evidence of his “rockabilly” influence. He used the Slap back echo technique to characterize this. The Slap back echo was used to delay time longer with minimal or no feedback. Furthermore, both Berry and Presley were known for their showy performances. Chuck had his trademark “duck walk” he conducted when doing his guitar solos, while Presley was known for his hip-swiveling dance moves that wooed young teenage girls and upset their parents. They both were major contributors to rock and roll and by crossing the boundaries that society deemed were immoral they started a revolution that impacted a