Yes, Chuck Berry Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll — and Singer-Songwriters. Oh, Teenagers Too

by Robert Christgau

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“While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll,” hedged the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame upon inducting Chuck Berry into its 1986 freshman class along with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino and others — “Chuck Berry came the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together.” And of course the hedge was justified in many ways, among them Presley’s preeminence and the equally momentous although not quite rock’n’roll innovations of ­classmates Ray Charles and James Brown.