CHUCK BERRY: An American Life

Best known as the artist behind classics like Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, You Never Can Tell, and Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry was a man of wild contradictions, whose motives and motivations were often shrouded in mystery. How did a teenage delinquent come to write so many songs that transformed American culture? And once he achieved fame and recognition, why did he put his career in danger with a lifetime's worth of reckless personal behaviour? Chuck Berry was a fan of musicians ranging from Muddy Waters to the Everley Brothers and Nat King Cole, a good chess player, lover and handyman capable of kindnesses and even friendship to fans and fellow musicians like Bo Diddley. But he also defied the law, the racist mores of the land, the IRS, the record industry, concert promoters and in terrible fashion sexual civility. His lifestyle was as crazy as the songs he wrote and he became an iconic figure in music who crafted subtle political commentary but who paid a great price for his success. 415pp, photos.