Chuck Berry – biography, wife, children, family, death and other facts

Chuck Berry, the man known as the father of rocket roll music, due to his great influence on this genre of music, is an African-American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He grew up in the city of St Louis and was introduced to music through his family’s participation in the Antioch Baptist Church choir. He also worked as a hairdresser, janitor and as a factory worker in a car factory while playing in small nightclubs before eventually achieving fame as a musician.

Biography of Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry was born as Charles Edward Anderson Berry on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father, Henry William Berry, was a deacon and entrepreneur, while her mother, Martha Bell Banks, was a public school principal. Chuck had five siblings – three older and two younger – whom he grew up with in northern St. Louis. He attended Charles H. Sumner High School and got into trouble with the law when he was arrested and put in jail (Young Men’s Intermediate Rehabilitation Center) for armed robbery.

He formed his first singing group in They Were So Good They Went Outside the Detention Center to Perform. After his time at the Reformatory, he landed jobs as a factory worker and janitor to make ends meet (and take care of his new family). He also took guitar lessons with his friend and local jazz musician, Ira Harris. He started collaborating with pianist Johnnie Johnson and together they played blues and ballads in different places.

Berry would then travel to Chicago in 1955 where he was lucky enough to meet the Chess Brothers (Leonard and Phil Chess through Muddy Waters) who signed him to their label – Chess Records. Chuck Berry released his single Maybellene which was an adaptation of an original song titled “Ida Red” in July 1955. The song sold over a million copies, topping the Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts and remaining in the pop chart for 11 weeks.

After the success of Maybellene’s single, Chuck Berry continued his momentum by releasing other hit singles, including Rolling on Beethoven (1956), Class Day (1957), Rock Music (1958), Go, Johnny, Go ! (1959). He was arrested in December 1959 for having sex with a 14-year-old underage waitress, Janice Escalante.

On June 1, 1979, Chuck Berry performed at the White House for US President Jimmy Carter. His publicity increased further in 1987 with the publication of his book Chuck Berry: The Autobiography and release of the documentary film Salute! Greet! Rock n Roll.

He can be considered an influential figure in rock and roll history. Bringing creativity and innovation into music, which is evident in the music of notable musicians such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Linda Ronstadt, among other important popular musicians who have re-recorded his songs in their own individual cover versions.

Family – wife and children

Chuck Berry married his wife ThemettaSuggs is widely known as “Toddy” in 1948, a year after his release from prison in 1947. He was already married before his success in the music industry. Their marriage produced four children: Carlin Ingrid, Aloha Isa Lei, Charles Ji and Melody. Unlike other celebrities whose marriages hit rock because of their fame or the blitz associated with their celebrity status, Berry and his wife remained together until his death. They had been married for over 68 years.

Legal issues

Berry’s life was not free of problems, as he crossed paths with the Laws at different points in his life. He was first arrested and imprisoned while still in high school for armed robbery and auto theft. He was also convicted and imprisoned for transporting an underage girl from one country to another for immoral purposes. He was sentenced to five years in prison after a two-week trial which he appealed. But he failed to secure a second appeal against his second conviction which sentenced him to three years in prison – which he served for a year and a half between 1961 and 1963.

In 1979, he spent three months in California prison after being convicted of income tax evasion. In 1990, police raided his estate to find he was selling cocaine, but the charges were later dropped. He was also involved in a class action lawsuit brought by women who claimed they were filmed while undressing and in the bathroom of Berry’s home without their consent. The case was later settled out of court.

Dead

After being in the music industry for over 60 years. After all the ups and downs he went through, Berry passed away on March 18, 2017, at the age of 90, of natural causes, leaving a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death. He was found unresponsive at his home in Missouri. He will always be remembered as a rock and roll pioneer whose influence will live on.