Musician Chuck Berry, who helped bring rhythm-and-blues elements into rock and roll music, has died.
The St. Charles County Police Department in Missouri confirmed on its Facebook page that Berry was found unresponsive in his home in St. Charles, outside St. Louis. Attempts to revive Berry were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead shortly before 1:30pm local time (2:30pm Eastern time).
Berry grew up in St. Louis and had overcome a stint in jail as a teenager to become one of the most influential rock and roll musicians ever. He incorporated guitar riffs and R&B elements into songs like "Maybellene", "School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)", "Johnny B. Goode" and "Sweet Little Sixteen", all of which went to number one on Billboard's R&B chart. In all, Berry had 13 top-ten hits on the R&B chart and six songs in the top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
His 1973 novelty hit "My Ding-a-Ling" was his only hit to reach number-one on the Hot 100.
Berry had been a top concert draw in a career spanning seven decades. Earlier this year, Berry had announced that he would release his first studio album since 1979.
Berry was 90 years old.
