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Having learned the guitar while at school, BERRY had his first run-in with the law in his late teens, when he was sent to reform school for a 3-year stretch after being convicted of armed attempted robbery.
Upon his release, he worked blue collar jobs by day, perfecting his playing and songwriting by night; berry's first professional combo (with pianist JOHNNIE JOHNSON and drummer EBBY HARDY) became a regular local attraction during the early to mid-50's with their upbeat blend of R&B/C&W. During a trip to Chicago ("home of the blues"), BERRY enjoyed an opportunistic encounter with the legendary MUDDY WATERS, who in turn, put him in touch with 'Chess' records. By the summer of '55, his first recording, 'MAYBELLENE' (an adaptation of an old country standard), was riding high in the US singles chart; this rock'n'roll template would be successfully utilised by BERRY right through to the end of the decade on such definitive R&B gems as TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS', 'ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN', 'ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC', 'SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN' and 'JOHNNY B. GOODE'. As well as inventing his inimitable stage party piece, the "duck-walk", BERRY injected a quintessentially Afro-American element of humour, wit and innuendo into the concept of pop music as teen rebellion, reclaiming the rock'n'roll crown from white pretenders such as BILL HALEY and ELVIS PRESLEY. However, the position of a famous black, anti-establishment star was a precarious one and BERRY fell foul of the authorities after employing a 14-year old Apache Indian as a hat-check girl in his nightclub. Unbeknown to BERRY, the girl had allegedly worked as a prostitute, and he was subsequently found guilty of contravening the 'Mann act' by bringing an under-age child across the Texas-Missouri border.
In October '61, he was sentenced to jail for five years, although due to the judge's racist remarks, he was given a retrial. He was later successfully tried and sentenced to three years, although with good behaviour, he was out early in '64. While in jail, berry's work was being successfully reappraised with many British-invasion artists, including The BEATLES and The ROLLING STONES, covering his early material as a sizeable part of their repertoire.
Inspired, "Crazy Legs" (as he was nicknamed) returned to the studio to record a new song, 'NADINE', the single becoming a Top 30 hit on both sides of the Atlantic. BERRY also set foot in Britain for the first time, wowing audiences with a further brace of recent hits including 'NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO' and 'YOU NEVER CAN TELL'. In June 1966, with flower-power just over the horizon, he signed to 'Mercury', although this ill-advised partnership proved commercially fruitless. In 1972, following a return to the 'Chess' label three years previous, he scored a UK No.l novelty hit with the embarrassing 'MY DING-A-LING'. Its double entendre lyrical content sufficiently enraged morality pest, Mary Whitehouse, for her to press for a media ban. In June 1979, BERRY was again imprisoned (100 days this time) for tax evasion, although during this period he signed a deal with 'Atlantic'.
Throughout the 80's, he continued to work sporadically, a docu-film 'HAIL! HAIL! ROCK'N'ROLL' being released early in '88, featuring footage from his 60th birthday concert (KEITH RICHARDS - his biggest fan - along with other star names formed his backing band at the time). BERRY subsequently retired from recording, choosing to live in his own amusement park in Wentzville, Missouri. He did, however, play live again in a November '89 revival concert. alongside BO DIDDLEY, The COASTERS etc. The following month, more controversy surrounded him when it was claimed he had been videoing a ladies rest-room for immoral purposes! In June 1990, his house was raided by the drugs squad, who seized marijuana, guns and homemade pornography.
He was later charged with possession of drugs and child abuse, although he was cleared of the latter and handed a fine and a 6-month suspended prison sentence for the drugs misdemeanour. Hail! hail!, rock'n'roll! right enough!
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