Chuck Berry

Latest about Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry performs live with a Gibson ES-355.
What set Chuck Berry’s playing apart, according to his son

By Jonathan Horsley Published

Chuck Berry Jr. says his father had the biggest hands. Thumb-to-pinky, it was nearly an octave reach, and it made him a natural at a certain technique

Guitarists
Marc Ribot is seated and plays a Fender Jaguar [left]; Chuck Berry plays a red Gibson ES-335.
Marc Ribot reveals just how hard Chuck Berry was on other guitarists

By Jonathan Horsley Published

Berry was a real live wire but when backing him up, session great Ribot and his band were ready for anything

Guitarists
Chuck Berry and Keith Richards
Keith Richards on the time Chuck Berry punched him

By Phil Weller Published

The Stones legend says he’d have done exactly the same

Guitarists
Bob Dylan performs onstage during The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
38 bassists appeared on Bob Dylan albums before Tony Garnier came onboard. In the 37 years since, no others have

By Chris Jisi Published

With a career backing artists like Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Chuck Berry, and Tom Waits, Tony Garnier is a walking textbook of bass history

Bassists
Keith Richards wears a dark green shirt and beanie and cradles his black 1960 Gibson ES-355.
Keith Richards on his enduring love affair with the guitar – and why he’s still learning at 82

By Joel McIver Published

The Rolling Stones icon reflects on life as a rhythm guitar hero, the size of his collection, and how the restriction of five-strings and open tunings blew his mind

Guitarists
Left- Carlos Alomar at club Le Bar Bat on October 1993 in New York City; Right-Rock and roll musician Chuck Berry poses for a portrait holding a Gibson hollowbody electric guitar in a scene from the movie "Go Johnny Go" which was released in June of 1959 in Los Angeles, California
Session great Carlos Alomar on his time as Chuck Berry’s rhythm guitarist

By Janelle Borg Published

Alomar also recalls his tour with James Brown and the time the King of Soul yelled ‘Hit me!’ – and he didn’t hit back

Guitarists
L-R Mary McGlory, Pamela Birch, Sylvia Saunders and Valerie Gell of Liverpool band The Liverbirds pose for a group portrait outside the Star Club c 1963 in Hamburg, Germany
The Liverbirds played alongside the Beatles and the Rolling Stones – and paved the way for women in rock

By Janelle Borg Published

From booting Chuck Berry’s manager off stage and proving John Lennon wrong, to touring Japan and blazing a screaming trail across Europe, The Liverbirds took Merseybeat beyond British shores, on their own terms

Bands
Chuck Berry and a 1964 Gibson Firebird
Chuck Berry’s 1964 Gibson Firebird – which he once played at a headline show at Wembley Stadium – has sold at auction

By Matt Owen Published

The refinished Firebird – which also featured on the front of a 2017 three-album reissue – saved the day when Berry snapped a string on his main guitar during a show in 1972

Electric Guitars
The cover of a Chuck Berry triple album (left), a 1964 Gibson Firebird Berry used onstage
Chuck Berry’s stage-played Gibson Firebird – which features on the cover of a 2017 triple-album reissue – is up for auction

By Matt Owen Published

The refinished Firebird was used by Berry during a headline slot at The Rock and Roll Show in 1972 after his main guitar snapped a string

Electric Guitars
Man wearing headphones playing air guitar
The top 10 air guitar songs of all time

By Guitar World Staff Published

From Free Bird’s iconic guitar solo to the legendary licks of Layla, here are the best tracks to “play” when you’re without your axe but fancy an impromptu practice session

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