Rock legend Chuck Berry passed away on Saturday at the age of 90. After the sad news broke, celebrities took to social media to pay their respects to the musician, dubbed the ‘father of rock ‘n’ roll’. Chuck’s music influenced the likes of the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who led the tributes. Mick Jagger thanked the star for his ‘inspirational music’, tweeting alongside a photo of him and the late singer: “I am so sad to hear of Chuck Berry's passing,' The Rolling Stones lead singer, 73, tweeted of the vanguard musician. I want to thank him for all the inspirational music he gave to us. He lit up our teenage years, and blew life into our dreams of being musicians and performers. His lyrics shone above others and threw a strange light on the American dream. Chuck, you were amazing, and your music is engraved inside us forever.” Ronnie Wood reflected: “ So sad with the passing of Chuck Berry comes the end of an era. He was one of the best and my inspiration, a true character indeed,” while Keith Richards simply wrote: “One of my big lights has gone out.”
Chuck Berry sadly passed away at the age of 90
Other famous faces in the music industry mourned Chuck’s passing, with Bruce Springsteen labelling him as: “The greatest pure rock ‘n’ roll writer who ever lived.” Tom Jones described him as a: “Game changer, rock ’n’ roll poet, guitar master,” while The Jacksons tributed: “Chuck Berry merged blues & swing into the phenomenon of early rock’n’roll. In music, he cast one of the longest shadows. Thank You Chuck.”
Chuck was born in 1926, in St Louis, Missouri, beginning his music career in the 1950s. His music has been covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to Cliff Richard, with iconic songs including Maybellene, My Ding-A-Ling and Sweet Little Sixteen. John Lennon once said: “If you tried to give rock ’n’ roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry.’” His body was found at his home at 12:40 local time, and was pronounced dead at 13:26, St Charles County Police Department confirmed in a statement. "The St. Charles County Police Department sadly confirms the death of Charles Edward Anderson Berry Sr., better known as legendary musician Chuck Berry," it said.