He was a young hairdresser and part-ime musician from St. Louis on vacation in Chicago when in 1955 Chuck Berry chatted up one of his heroes, Muddy Waters, in a club. Waters told Berry about Leonard Chess and his record label. There was an audition and then a session at which Berry recorded an original blues, "Wee Wee Hours." For a flip side, Berry pulled out a mock hillbilly rave up, "Maybelline," inspired by Bob Wills' "Ida Red," and the rest is rock and roll history. Berry's good looks and duck-walking showmanship helped break down the color barrier and make the guitar the axe of choice for young rockers. One of the greatest pop songwriters of all time, Berry was rock and roll's most marvelous storyteller and the inspiration for Bob Dylan and the other musical wordsmiths of the '60s. RIP