Duck Walking at 80

Today is Chuck Berry's 80th birthday and by all accounts the ever-rebellious rock 'n' roll pioneer is going strong with a dinner party planned for tonight followed by a late-night gig at his favorite St. Louis club. They say he can still do a mean duck walk on stage.

I was just a little too young to feel connected to Berry's music as a teen -- he was closer to the Elvis generation in my young eyes. But as time goes by I appreciate the incredible influence he had on some of rock's greatest -- in terms of music as well as showmanship. Berry's groundbreaking stage moves paved the way for rock 'n' roll showmen from Keith Richards to Pete Townshend to Bruce Springsteen. He showed that a guitar wasn't a hindrance to stage movement, but actually a prop, a tool, a weapon to be wielded and milked for all it's worth.

Berry's personal life has had its darker moments. Jail time in the early '60s for some kind of under-age Mexican waitress business and I believe he spent some time in the hoosegow in the '80s over some kind of tax problem. But he invented some of the most enduring (and frequently "borrowed") guitar licks in the history of rock. "Roll Over Beethoven," "Johnny B. Goode," "Rock 'N' Roll Music" and "Sweet Little Sixteen" all came from the original guitar-slinging outlaw. When Keith Richards inducted Berry into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1986, he said something like, "It's hard for me to induct Chuck Berry because I lifted every one of his licks!"

It sounds like he lives quietly in Missouri these days, playing monthly gigs in St. Louis with several family members joining him on stage. He hasn't spoken to the press in many years and that's his right. As some of rock's gargantuan classic acts continue to tour into their 60s -- the Stones, the Who, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton (close to 60, anyway!) -- it's fascinating to see that one of the originals still straps on an electric guitar and hits the stage at 80.

Have a great party tonight, Mr. Berry.