Chuck Berry

Many people says that Chuck Berry is the father of Rock&Roll.
Chuck had great performance on stage, thanks to his famous "duck walk", that became his trademark. Chuck performed first "duck walk" in New York, in 1956. He says he did that to hide the wrinkles in his rayon suit. He recalls: "It got an ovation, so I did it again and again".

Famous "duck walk" performed by Chuck Berry. Later, Angus Young, guitarist of AC/DC used it in his performances.

In December 1959 following an appearance in El Paso, Chuck and band visited nearby Juarez, Mexico. There he invited a 14 years old Apache waitress Janice Escalanti to work as a hat chech girl at his nightclub, Berry's Club Bandstand in St. Louis. According to Berry, when he refused her advances she left in a fit of anger. On December 21, Janice was arrested for prostitution at local hotel. Because of this, Berry was charged with violation of the Mann Act. This federal statue forbid the transporting a person across state lines for the purpose of prostitution. Berry was convicted to five years in prison and fined $5,000. An appeal was made based on racial comments made by the presiding judge and a new trial began in October, 1961. Most of the original verdict was upheld and Berry received 3 years at the Indiana Federal Prison and fined $10,000. Two months later he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas. He completed his sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri and was released on his birthday October 18, 1963. Chuck Berry was never the same person again. He felt he had been betrayed.