Editing Chuck Berry (section)

==Career==

===1952–1955: Music career beginnings===
By the early 1950s, Chuck Berry was working with local bands in clubs in St. Louis as an extra source of income.<ref name=page179/> He had been playing [[blues music|blues]] since his teens, and he borrowed both guitar riffs and [[guitar showmanship|showmanship]] techniques from the blues musician [[T-Bone Walker]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Cohn|first=Lawrence|title=Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians|year=1993 |author2=Aldin, Mary Katherine |author3=Bastin, Bruce|publisher=Abbeville Press|isbn=978-1-55859-271-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/nothingbutbluesm00cohn/page/174 174] |url=https://archive.org/details/nothingbutbluesm00cohn/page/174}}</ref> He also took guitar lessons from his friend Ira Harris, which laid the foundation for his guitar style.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Official Site of Chuck Berry |url=http://www.chuckberry.com/about/bio.htm|access-date=February 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109044235/http://www.chuckberry.com/about/bio.htm|archive-date=January 9, 2010|url-status=dead|publisher=chuckberry.com}}</ref> By early 1953, Berry was performing with [[Johnnie Johnson (musician)|Johnnie Johnson]]'s trio, starting a long-time collaboration with the pianist.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chuck Berry plays tribute to Johnnie Johnson |date=April 15, 2005 |publisher=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/chuck-berry-plays-tribute-to-johnnie-johnson-1.559275 |access-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-date=February 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216231953/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/chuck-berry-plays-tribute-to-johnnie-johnson-1.559275 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chuck Berry Remembers Johnnie Johnson |url=http://www.firstcoastnews.com/printfullstory.aspx?storyid=35622 |last=Wittenauer|first=Cheryl |agency=Associated Press |publisher=firstcoastnews.com |access-date=June 5, 2010}} {{dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The band played blues and ballads as well as [[Country music|country]]. Berry wrote, "Curiosity provoked me to lay a lot of our country stuff on our predominantly black audience and some of our black audience began whispering 'who is that black [[hillbilly]] at the Cosmo?' After they laughed at me a few times, they began requesting the hillbilly stuff and enjoyed dancing to it."<ref name="Chuck Berry" />

In 1954, Berry recorded the tracks "I Hope These Words Will Find You Well" and "Oh, Maria!" with the group Joe Alexander & the Cubans. The songs were released as a single on the Ballad label.<ref>{{Citation |title=Joe Alexander And The Cubans – Oh Maria (1954, Vinyl) |url=https://www.discogs.com/Joe-Alexander-And-The-Cubans-Oh-Maria/release/4543698 |language=en |access-date=2021-06-19}}</ref> Berry's showmanship, along with a mix of country tunes and R&B tunes, sung in the style of [[Nat King Cole]] set to the music of [[Muddy Waters]] brought in a wider audience, particularly affluent white people.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chuckberry.com/about/bio.htm|title=The Official Site of Chuck Berry|publisher=chuckberry.com|access-date=June 6, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109044235/http://www.chuckberry.com/about/bio.htm|archive-date=January 9, 2010}}</ref>

===1955–1962: Signing with Chess: "Maybellene" to "Come On"===
[[File:Maybellene - Billboard ad 1955.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' advertisement, August 6, 1955]] 
In May 1955, Berry traveled to Chicago, where he met Muddy Waters who suggested he contact [[Leonard Chess]], of [[Chess Records]]. Berry thought his blues music would interest Chess, but Chess was a larger fan of Berry's take on "[[Ida Red (song)|Ida Red]]".<ref name=pc5>{{Pop Chronicles |5|5 |Leonard Chess}}.</ref> On May 21, 1955, Berry recorded an adaptation of the song "Ida Red", under the title "[[Maybellene]]", with [[Johnnie Johnson (musician)|Johnnie Johnson]] on the piano, [[Jerome Green]] (from [[Bo Diddley]]'s band) on the maracas, Ebby Hardy on the drums and [[Willie Dixon]] on the bass.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rothwell |first=Fred |title=Long Distance Information: Chuck Berry's Recorded Legacy |date=2001 |publisher=Music Mentor Books |isbn=978-0-9519888-2-4 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hs4ZAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> "Maybellene" sold over a million copies, reaching number one on ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]'' magazine's rhythm and blues chart and number five on its Best Sellers in Stores chart for September 10, 1955.<ref name="Chuck Berry"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.die-rock-and-roll-ag.de/html/chuck_1955-56.html|title=Chuck 1955–56|publisher=Die-rock-and-roll-ag.de|access-date=October 7, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002113531/http://www.die-rock-and-roll-ag.de/html/chuck_1955-56.html|archive-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref> Berry said, "It came out at the right time when Afro-American music was spilling over into the mainstream pop."<ref>NBC Evening News, March 18, 2017</ref>

When Berry first saw a copy of the ''Maybellene'' record, he was surprised that two other individuals, including DJ [[Alan Freed]], had been given writing credit; that would entitle them to some of the royalties. After a court battle, Berry was able to regain full writing credit.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/05/son-dj-alan-freed-hall-of-fame-no-longer-want-ashes |title=Son of DJ Alan Freed says Rock Hall of Fame no longer want his cremated remains |date=August 5, 2014 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |first=Sean|last=Michaels|access-date=February 4, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031721/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/05/son-dj-alan-freed-hall-of-fame-no-longer-want-ashes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/14/arts/the-man-who-knew-it-wasn-t-only-rock-n-roll.html |first=Bernard|last=Weinraub |title=The Man Who Knew It Wasn't Only Rock 'n' Roll|date=October 14, 1999 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 4, 2021 |quote=Mr. Jackson, who wrote the Freed biography, said that two members of the virtuoso group the Moonglows told him that Mr. Freed had no involvement with their big hit ''Sincerely'' yet took a writing credit for it and received the royalties. Maybelline .... Mr. Berry went to court eventually and succeeded in having Mr. Freed's name removed as co-writer. |archive-date=February 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208223102/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/14/arts/the-man-who-knew-it-wasn-t-only-rock-n-roll.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the end of June 1956, his song "[[Roll Over Beethoven]]" reached number 29 on the ''Billboard''{{'}}s Top 100 chart, and Berry toured as one of the "Top Acts of '56". He and [[Carl Perkins]] became friends. Perkins said that "I knew when I first heard Chuck that he'd been affected by country music. I respected his writing; his records were very, very great."<ref>Perkins, Carl; McGee, David (1996). ''Go, Cat, Go!''. Hyperion Press. pp. 215, 216. {{ISBN|0-7868-6073-1}}.</ref> In late 1957, Berry took part in [[Alan Freed]]'s "Biggest Show of Stars for 1957", touring the United States with the [[Everly Brothers]], [[Buddy Holly]], and others.<ref name="SchinderSchwartz2008">{{cite book |last1=Schinder |first1=Scott |last2=Schwartz |first2=Andy |title=Icons of Rock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-ET5tnh0MUC&pg=PA86 |url-status=live |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2008 |page=86 |access-date=February 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144301/http://books.google.com/books?id=q-ET5tnh0MUC&pg=PA86 |archive-date=June 27, 2014 |isbn=9780313338465}}</ref> He was a guest on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[The Guy Mitchell Show|Guy Mitchell Show]]'', singing his hit song "Rock 'n' Roll Music". The hits continued from 1957 to 1959, with Berry scoring over a dozen chart singles during this period, including the US Top 10 hits "[[School Days (Chuck Berry song)|School Days]]", "[[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]", "[[Sweet Little Sixteen]]", and "[[Johnny B. Goode]]". He appeared in two early rock-and-roll movies: ''Rock Rock Rock'' (1956), in which he sang "You Can't Catch Me", and ''[[Go, Johnny, Go!]]'' (1959), in which he had a speaking role as himself and performed "Johnny B. Goode", "[[Memphis, Tennessee (song)|Memphis, Tennessee]]", and "[[Little Queenie]]". His performance of "Sweet Little Sixteen" at the [[Newport Jazz Festival]] in 1958 was captured in the motion picture ''[[Jazz on a Summer's Day]]''.<ref name="DenisoffRomanowski1991">{{cite book|last1=Denisoff|first1=R. Serge|last2=Romanowski|first2=William D.|title=Risky Business: Rock in Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kT0fKUCTUC4C&pg=PA104|access-date=February 6, 2014|year=1991|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=9781412833370|page=104|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144243/http://books.google.com/books?id=kT0fKUCTUC4C&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Chuck Berry circa 1958.jpg|thumb|upright|Berry in a 1958 publicity photo]]
The opening guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode"<ref name="LOUIS JORDAN, THE JUKEBOX KING">{{Cite web|url=https://www.courttheatre.org/about/blog/louis-jordan-jukebox-king/|title=Louis Jordan, the Jukebox King &#124; Five Guys Named Moe|first=Emily|last=Lovett|date=July 25, 2017|publisher=Court Theatre}}</ref> is similar to the one used by [[Louis Jordan]] in his "[[Ain't That Just Like a Woman (They'll Do It Every Time)|Ain't That Just Like a Woman]]" (1946).<ref name="LOUIS JORDAN, THE JUKEBOX KING"/> Berry acknowledged the debt to Jordan and several sources have indicated that his work was influenced by Jordan in general.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/chuck-berrys-music-helped-define-the-modern-teenager/|title=Chuck Berry's influence on rock 'n roll was incalculable|date=March 18, 2017|newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]]|first=Hillel|last=Italie|
access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Flanagan">{{cite book |last=Flanagan |first=Bill |title=Written in My Soul: Conversations with Rock's Great Songwriters |date=1987 |publisher=RosettaBooks}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://observer.com/2017/03/surprising-factors-that-made-chuck-berry-music-eternal/|title=3 Surprising Factors That Made Chuck Berry's Music Eternal|website=Observer|first=Tim|last=Sommer |date=March 31, 2017}}</ref>

By the end of the 1950s, Berry was a high-profile established star with several hit records and film appearances and a lucrative touring career. He had opened a racially integrated St. Louis nightclub, Berry's Club Bandstand, and invested in real estate.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite news|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3664/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Chuck Berry > Biography|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 18, 2010}}</ref> But in December 1959, he was arrested under the [[Mann Act]] after <!-- questionable (POV/encyclopedic tone?) -->allegations that he had had sex with a 14-year-old [[Apache]] waitress, Janice Escalante,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chuck-berry-goes-on-trial-for-the-second-time|title=Chuck Berry goes on trial for the second time - Oct 28, 1961|publisher=History.com|access-date=March 18, 2017|archive-date=April 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401134006/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chuck-berry-goes-on-trial-for-the-second-time|url-status=live}}</ref> whom he had transported across state lines to work as a hatcheck girl at his club.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88104308|title=The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act|publisher=NPR|first=Eric|last=Weiner|date=March 11, 2008| access-date=February 18, 2010|archive-date=April 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421165121/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88104308|url-status=live}}</ref> After a two-week trial in March 1960, he was [[convict]]ed, fined $5,000, and sentenced to five years in prison.<ref name="Collis2002">{{cite book |last=Collis |first=John |title=Chuck Berry: The Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AgUAQAAIAAJ |access-date=February 6, 2014 |date=October 30, 2002 |publisher=Aurum |isbn=9781854108739 |page=102 |archive-date=May 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526212743/https://books.google.com/books?id=0AgUAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> He appealed the decision, arguing that the judge's comments and attitude were [[Racism|racist]] and prejudiced the jury against him. The appeal was upheld<ref name=trial/><ref>{{cite book|last=Higginbotham|first=Aloysius Leon |title=Shades of Freedom: Racial Politics and Presumptions of the American Legal Process|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |page=150|isbn=978-0-19-512288-6}}</ref> and a second trial was heard in May and June 1961,<ref name="BEHM">{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|pp=123–124, 129}}.</ref> resulting in another conviction and a three-year prison sentence.<ref name="pegg">{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|pp=144–157, 161}}.</ref> After another appeal failed, Berry served one and one-half years in prison from February 1962 to October 1963.<ref>{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|p=161}}.</ref> He continued recording and performing during the trials, but his output had slowed as his popularity declined; his last single released before he was imprisoned was "[[Come On (Chuck Berry song)|Come On]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/chessupto1966.html|title=Chuck Berry Collector's Guide&nbsp;– The Chess Era (1955–1966)|publisher=crlf.de|access-date=June 3, 2010|archive-date=October 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016132054/http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/chessupto1966.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1963–1969: "Nadine" and move to Mercury===
[[File:Chuck Berry en Lucy Ann (1965).jpg|thumb|Berry and his sister Lucy Ann, 1965]]

When Berry was released from prison in 1963, his return to recording and performing was made easier because [[British invasion]] bands—notably the [[The Beatles|Beatles]] and the [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]]—had sustained interest in his music by releasing cover versions of his songs,<ref>{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|p=163}}.</ref><ref name="Miles2009">{{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|title=The British Invasion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8xbaIlrUREC&pg=PA20|access-date=February 6, 2014|year=2009|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|isbn=9781402769764|page=20|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144252/http://books.google.com/books?id=r8xbaIlrUREC&pg=PA20|url-status=live}}</ref> and other bands had reworked some of them, such as [[the Beach Boys]]' 1963 hit "[[Surfin' U.S.A. (song)|Surfin' U.S.A.]]", which used the melody of Berry's "[[Sweet Little Sixteen]]".<ref name="StudwellLonergan1999">{{cite book|last1=Studwell|first1=William Emmett|last2=Lonergan|first2=David F.|title=The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhy_BdXuSm4C|access-date=February 6, 2014|year=1999|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780789001511|page=81|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144258/http://books.google.com/books?id=jhy_BdXuSm4C|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1964 and 1965 Berry released eight singles, including three that were commercially successful, reaching the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' 100: "[[No Particular Place to Go]]" (a humorous reworking of "School Days", concerning the introduction of seat belts in cars),<ref name=Pegg168>{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|p=168}}.</ref> "[[You Never Can Tell (song)|You Never Can Tell]]", and the rocking "[[Nadine (song)|Nadine]]".<ref>{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|p=262}}.</ref> Between 1966 and 1969, Berry released five albums for [[Mercury Records]], including his second live album (and first recorded entirely onstage), ''[[Live at the Fillmore Auditorium (Chuck Berry album)|Live at Fillmore Auditorium]]''; for the live album he was backed by the [[Steve Miller Band]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/mercury.html|title=Chuck Berry Collector's Guide&nbsp;– The Mercury Era (1966–1969)|publisher=crlf.de|access-date=May 27, 2010|archive-date=December 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204163445/http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/mercury.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" />

Although this period was not a successful one for studio work,<ref name="CooperHaney1997">{{cite book|last1=Cooper|first1=B. Lee|last2=Haney|first2=Wayne S.|title=Rock Music in American Popular Culture II: More Rock 'n' Roll Resources|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9hNX3tcKrEC&pg=PA30|access-date=February 6, 2014|date=January 1997|publisher=Harrington Park Press|isbn=9781560238775|page=30|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144249/http://books.google.com/books?id=C9hNX3tcKrEC&pg=PA30|url-status=live}}</ref> Berry was still a top concert draw. In May 1964, he had made a successful tour of the UK,<ref name=Pegg168/> but when he returned in January 1965, his behavior was erratic and moody, and his touring style of using unrehearsed local backing bands and a strict nonnegotiable contract was earning him a reputation as a difficult and unexciting performer.<ref name="Pegg2004">{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|pp=173–174}}.</ref> He also played at large events in North America, such as the [[Schaefer Music Festival]], in New York City's [[Central Park]] in July 1969, and the [[Toronto Rock and Roll Revival]] festival in October.<ref name="Warner2004">{{cite book|last=Warner|first=Jay|title=On This Day in Music History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-vpcsdAEMc0C|access-date=February 6, 2014|year=2004|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9781617743795|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144256/http://books.google.com/books?id=-vpcsdAEMc0C|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1970–1979: Back to Chess: "My Ding-a-Ling" to White House concert===
{{quote box|width=30%|align=left|quote=Berry helped give life to a subculture&nbsp;... Even "My Ding-a-Ling", a fourth-grade wee-wee joke that used to mortify true believers at college concerts, permitted a lot of twelve-year-olds new insight into the moribund concept of "dirty" when it hit the airwaves&nbsp;... |source=[[Robert Christgau]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Christgau|editor=Anthony DeCurtis |editor2=James Henke|title=The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music|url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneillu00decu|url-access=limited|publisher=Random House|year=1988|location=New York City|isbn=0-679-73728-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneillu00decu/page/60 60]–66|chapter=Chuck Berry}}</ref>}}

Berry returned to Chess from 1970 to 1973. There were no hit singles from the 1970 album ''Back Home'', but in 1972, Chess released a live recording of "[[My Ding-a-Ling]]", a novelty song that he had recorded in a different version as "My Tambourine" on his 1968 LP ''From St. Louie to Frisco''.<ref>{{harvtxt|Pegg|2003|p=184}}.</ref> The track became his only number-one single. A live recording of "[[Reelin' and Rockin']]", issued as a follow-up single in the same year, was his last Top 40 hit in both the US and the UK. Both singles were included on the part-live, part-studio album ''[[The London Chuck Berry Sessions]]'' (other albums of London sessions were recorded by Chess's mainstay artists [[Muddy Waters]] and [[Howlin' Wolf]]). Berry's second tenure with Chess ended with the 1975 album ''Chuck Berry'', after which he did not make a studio record until ''[[Rockit (album)|Rockit]]'' for [[Atco Records]] in 1979, which would be his last studio album for 38 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Berry,_Chuck/Discography/album/P3664/R30491/|title=Rock It Album Review, Songs, Ratings|publisher=starpulse.com|access-date=June 2, 2010|archive-date=June 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606175211/http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Berry,_Chuck/Discography/album/P3664/R30491/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Chuck Berry Midnight Special 1973.JPG|thumb|upright|Berry as guest host of ''[[The Midnight Special (TV series)|The Midnight Special]]'' in 1973]]

In the 1970s, Berry toured on the strength of his earlier successes. He was on the road for many years, carrying only his [[Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson]] guitar, confident that he could hire a band that already knew his music no matter where he went. [[AllMusic]] said that in this period his "live performances became increasingly erratic,&nbsp;... working with terrible backup bands and turning in sloppy, out-of-tune performances" which "tarnished his reputation with younger fans and oldtimers" alike.<ref name="allmusic"/> In March 1972, he was filmed, at the [[Shepherd's Bush Empire|BBC Television Theatre]] in Shepherds Bush, for ''Chuck Berry in Concert'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074rbc|title=Chuck Berry in Concert - BBC Four|publisher=bbc.co.uk|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=March 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327033707/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074rbc|url-status=live}}</ref> part of a 60-date tour backed by the band Rocking Horse.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-snow-mn0000965472|title=Michael Snow - Biography & History - AllMusic|publisher=allmusic.com|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=March 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320055355/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-snow-mn0000965472|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the many bandleaders performing a backup role with Berry in the 1970s, were [[Bruce Springsteen]] and [[Steve Miller (musician)|Steve Miller]] when each was just starting his career. (Springsteen related in the documentary film ''[[Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll]]'' that Berry did not give the band a set list and expected the musicians to follow his lead after each guitar intro. Berry did not speak to the band after the show. Nevertheless, Springsteen backed Berry again when he appeared at the concert for the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1995.) At the request of [[Jimmy Carter]], Berry performed at the [[White House]] on June 1, 1979.<ref name="Rock and Roll Hall of Fame">{{cite news|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/chuck-berry|title=Chuck Berry|last=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|publisher=rockhall.com|access-date=June 2, 2010|archive-date=June 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613015718/http://rockhall.com/inductees/chuck-berry|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1979 Berry pleaded guilty to evading nearly $110,000 in federal income tax owed on his 1973 joint earnings of $374,982.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/13/archives/chuck-berry-pleads-guilty-to-tax-evasion-for-1973.html|title=Chuck Berry Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion for 1973|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 13, 1979|access-date=May 26, 2018|archive-date=May 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527201419/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/13/archives/chuck-berry-pleads-guilty-to-tax-evasion-for-1973.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was sentenced to 120 days in prison.<ref name="Company1979">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|title=Chuck Berry Enters Prison Where Watergaters Stayed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61|access-date=February 6, 2014|date=August 30, 1979|page=61|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627144248/http://books.google.com/books?id=wEIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1980–2017: Last years on the road===
[[File:ChuckBerry1997.jpg|thumb|left|Berry performing at the [[Long Beach Blues Festival]], August 1997]]
Berry continued to play 70 to 100 one-nighters per year in the 1980s, still traveling solo and requiring a local band to back him at each stop. In 1986, [[Taylor Hackford]] made a documentary film, ''[[Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll]]'', of a celebration concert for Berry's sixtieth birthday, organized by [[Keith Richards]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hackford |first=Taylor |title=Rock'n'Roll Fireworks: Keith Richards and Chuck Berry Together on Stage |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/rocknroll-fireworks-keith-richards-and-chuck-berry-together-on-stage-440364.html |url-status=dead |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=March 16, 2007 |access-date=June 6, 2010 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205165400/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/rocknroll-fireworks-keith-richards-and-chuck-berry-together-on-stage-440364.html |archive-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref> [[Eric Clapton]], [[Etta James]], [[Julian Lennon]], [[Robert Cray]], and [[Linda Ronstadt]], among others, appeared with Berry on stage and in the film. During the concert, Berry played a [[Gibson ES-355]], the luxury version of the [[Gibson ES-335|ES-335]] that he favored on his 1970s tours. Richards played a black [[Fender Telecaster]] Custom, Cray a [[Fender Stratocaster]] and Clapton a Gibson ES 350T, the same model that Berry used on his early recordings.<ref name=SweetTunes/>

In the late 1980s, Berry bought the [[Southern Air Restaurant|Southern Air]], a restaurant in [[Wentzville, Missouri]].<ref name="History of Rock">{{cite news|url=http://www.history-of-rock.com/berrytwo.htm|title=Chuck Berry|publisher=history-of-rock.com|access-date=June 3, 2010|archive-date=March 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304205812/http://www.history-of-rock.com/berrytwo.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1982, Berry performed a television special at [[Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood)|The Roxy]] in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]] with [[Tina Turner]] as his special guest. The concert was released a year later on home video.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1780797/|title=Chuck Berry: Live at the Roxy with Tina Turner|publisher=imdb.com|access-date=October 26, 2022}}</ref> In November 2000, Berry faced legal issues when he was sued by his former pianist [[Johnnie Johnson (musician)|Johnnie Johnson]] who claimed that he had co-written over 50 songs, including "No Particular Place to Go", "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven", that credit Berry alone. The case was dismissed when the judge ruled that [[Laches (equity)|too much time had passed]] since the songs were written.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rock Pioneer Johnson Dies Aged 80|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4443831.stm|date=April 14, 2005|access-date=November 27, 2007|archive-date=June 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606083125/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4443831.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Chuck Berry.jpg|thumb|upright|Berry performing at [[Virgin Festival]] in [[Baltimore]], August 2008]]
In 2008, Berry toured Europe, with stops in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, and Spain. In mid-2008, he played at the [[Virgin Festival]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Official Concert Schedule (2008)|url=http://www.chuckberry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2076|access-date=August 11, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808161942/http://www.chuckberry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2076|archive-date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> During a concert on New Year's Day 2011 in Chicago, Berry, suffering from exhaustion, passed out and had to be helped off stage.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chuck Berry Recovering at Home from Exhaustion after Chicago Show |date=January 1, 2011 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-live-0103-chuck-berry-review-20110102,0,7930886.story |access-date=January 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122232942/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-live-0103-chuck-berry-review-20110102,0,7930886.story |archive-date=January 22, 2011 |url-status=dead }}<br /> {{cite video|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbawWMn0Q0U| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307182835/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbawWMn0Q0U| archive-date=2011-03-07 | url-status=dead|date=January 1, 2011|title=Chuck Berry Felt Ill on Stage in Chicago 01.01.2011|publisher=YouTube}} {{cite video|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMl82G-Xamw| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226113737/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMl82G-Xamw| archive-date=2013-02-26 | url-status=dead|date=January 1, 2011|title=Chuck Berry After Collapse in Chicago 01.01.2011&nbsp;– On Stage Explaining What Happened|publisher=YouTube}}</ref>

Berry lived in [[Ladue, Missouri]], approximately {{convert|10|mi}} west of St. Louis. He also had a home at "Berry Park", near Wentzville where he lived part-time since the 1950s and was the home in which he died. The home with the guitar-shaped swimming pool, is seen in scenes near the end of the film ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chuckberry.de/archive_october2002.htm|title=News Archive&nbsp;– October 2002|publisher=chuckberry.de|access-date=June 6, 2010|archive-date=July 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716120822/http://www.chuckberry.de/archive_october2002.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
When Berry performed he often required payment up front in a paper bag which he transferred to an attaché case, [[PBS]] on ''In Their Own Words'', relates. He gave interviews where he talked about having been ripped off during his early career. Thus he protected his own interests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/chuck-berry-ii2qnk/ |title=Chuck Berry|publisher=PBS|date=August 6, 2022|access-date=December 18, 2024}}</ref>

He regularly performed one Wednesday each month at [[Blueberry Hill (restaurant)|Blueberry Hill]], a restaurant and bar located in the [[Delmar Loop]] neighborhood of [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], from 1996 to 2014. Berry announced on his 90th birthday that his first new studio album since ''Rockit'' in 1979, entitled ''[[Chuck (Chuck Berry album)|Chuck]]'', would be released in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/18/chuck-berry-new-album-first-in-38-years|title=Chuck Berry, 90, announces first album in 38 years|date=October 18, 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=October 18, 2016|archive-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018160902/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/18/chuck-berry-new-album-first-in-38-years|url-status=live}}</ref> His first new record in 38 years, it includes his children, Charles Berry Jr. and Ingrid, on guitar and harmonica with songs "covering the spectrum from hard-driving rockers to soulful thought-provoking time capsules of a life's work" and dedicated to his wife Toddy.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2016/1018/Chuck-Berry-to-release-new-studio-album-at-90-video|title=Chuck Berry to release new studio album at 90|author=Beck, Christina|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=October 31, 2016|page=8|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=March 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319111656/http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2016/1018/Chuck-Berry-to-release-new-studio-album-at-90-video|url-status=live}}</ref>