Chuck Berry would have turned 100 years old on Oct. 18, and in St. Louis, the man widely called the father of rock ’n’ roll is being celebrated the way he lived much of his life: with a guitar in hand and family close by. A concert at the Grandel is scheduled for Oct. 22.
Charles Berry will perform at the concert alongside his son, Charles “Charlie” Berry III, grandson Jahi Eskridge, drummer Steve Jordan and other musicians, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting by Jasmine Osby. The tribute will feature Berry family members and other musicians.
It's the latest chapter in an ongoing effort, already two years in the making, to keep Berry's catalog alive for new audiences. That effort has a name: CHUCK100, a two-year project of recordings and events celebrating Berry's music ahead of the centennial, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The Berry family released the project's first EP on Oct. 18, 2024, featuring five wildly different versions of the 1964 hit “You Never Can Tell,” the station reported, with plans to release additional EPs focused on a different Berry classic every three months.
A Band Built From Family Ties
Much of that new material comes from What the Chuck!, a St. Louis-based band that includes Berry's son Charles Berry Jr., grandsons Charlie Berry III and Jahi Eskridge, bassist Terry Coleman, pianist Antonio Foster and drummer Keith Robinson, per the station's report. Themetta Berry, Chuck's widow, is described in that reporting as intimately involved in the project and the final arbiter of which recordings make the cut.
Berry Jr. played guitar in his father's band for 14 years, touring internationally with him, St. Louis Public Radio notes.
Fresh off its first tour in Japan, the Charlie Berry Project played Blueberry Hill's Duck Room on May 22, with support from Kansas City's Stranded In The City and Nashville singer Lauren Anderson, according to Blueberry Hill, the Delmar Boulevard venue where Chuck Berry himself famously held court.
From St. Louis Streets To The Hall Of Fame
Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis on Oct. 18, 1926, and worked various jobs around the city, the Post-Dispatch reports. He recorded “Maybellene” for Chess Records in 1955, and the song sold more than 1 million copies, per the Post-Dispatch — a breakout the Philadelphia Inquirer also credits as his first hit. “Maybellene” quickly rose to No. 1 on the R&B charts, and two weeks later, in August 1955, it reached No. 5 on the pop chart, according to NPR, which notes Berry was also the first Black rock artist to find national success performing his own music.
Berry wrote “Maybellene” and “Roll Over Beethoven” and had numerous hit songs through the 1950s, per the Post-Dispatch. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
A Complicated Legacy Alongside The Music
Berry faced a Mann Act charge in 1959 and served prison time.
Chuck Berry performed monthly at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, according to the Post-Dispatch. He died in March 2017. Charles Berry III performed at LouFest's “Hail! Hail! Chuck Berry!” tribute in Forest Park on Sept. 9, 2017, after Chuck Berry’s death.
Scholars Examine Berry's National Impact
St. Louis isn't the only place marking the milestone. The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University in New Jersey hosted a daylong symposium and concert on Oct. 10 celebrating Berry's life, music and influence, according to the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music. Held in the Pollak Theatre on campus, the symposium opened with a keynote from Berry biographer R.J. Smith, author of “Chuck Berry: An American Life,” and examined Berry's artistic achievements, cultural impact and complex legacy before closing with a concert featuring guest artists exploring his enduring influence on rock ’n’ roll.
The Inquirer, covering that gathering, described Berry's ability to bring together audiences across racial and generational lines as central to his legacy. Separately, St. Louis Public Radio has reported that Revelations Entertainment has optioned the rights to Berry's life story and is developing a drama series tracing his rise from St. Louis to worldwide stardom.
Back home, the Grandel concert on Oct. 22 will keep the celebration local, with Berry's descendants aiming to keep his music and legacy alive one riff at a time — much as they have all year, from Duck Room stages to studio sessions guided by Themetta Berry.
