The first is often the best and in a business that produces idols and living legends, Chuck Berry stands as the revered granddaddy of them all. Cited as a major influence by every rock artist worth his salt in the last 50 years, Berry's music has been as interesting as his colorful life.

Growing up in St. Louis wasn't easy for the young man, who had a passion for playing the guitar. After spending three years in reform school for armed robbery, young Chuck  continued to pursue his music dreams by performing at local clubs during the night and working odd jobs during the day.

Encouraged by blues legend Muddy Waters, Berry took his demo tape to Chess Records and walked away with the release of "Maybellene." The toe-tapping tune was a fusion of blues and rockabilly that heralded a new style of music and was an instant hit. More hits followed on the r&b charts: "Roll Over Beethoven," "No Money Down," "Thirty Days" and "Too Much Monkey Business" were only the beginning of a string of successes in the late 50s.

Berry's hit singles flew off the shelves like really delicious hotcakes, including the now-classic "Johnny B. Goode" and "Sweet Little Sixteen." Chuck even made appearances in movies produced by pioneering DJ Alan Freed, like Mr. Rock n' Roll and Go, Johnny, Go.

Chuck was living the high life but in 1961 he was arrested for transporting a minor across state lines (an Arizona girl that was supposed to work at one of his clubs but was fired shortly thereafter) and spent three more years in the pokey.

Still, Berry had left plenty of reminders in the charts and up-and-coming rockers used and reused his trailblazing material. The Beach Boys turned "Sweet Little Sixteen" into "Surfin' USA;" the Rolling Stones covered "Come On" and other Chuck Berry hits; the Beatles rode on the man's coattails with their own versions of "Rock n' Roll Music" and "Roll Over Beethoven." Once more a free man, Chuck went right back to the studio and released "Nadine," "No Particular Place to Go" and "You Never Can Tell."

In 1966, Berry made a disastrous move to Mercury Records which yielded nothing but clashes between the singer and his producers; he went back to Chess Records in 1969 with Back Home and the saucy mega hit, "My Ding-A-Ling." That was a curious high point in a downward trend for the great rocker, who had fewer and fewer hits to his name. His live performances were unpredictable, as Chuck Berry refused to tell his backing band what song to play next.

After an uneven output during the 70s, Berry headed back to prison on tax evasion charges; while cooling his heels behind bars, he put together a tell-all autobiography that was published in 1988. There were more brushes with the law in the following years but Berry's music legacy remains untainted by the various scandals. His songs formed the very backbone on which rock n' roll was built and well, we can forgive old Chuck anything.