Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry is the true founding father of rock and roll guitar, creating the template from which every subsequent rock guitarist built between 1955 and 1970. His double-string bends and driving boogie rhythms on hits like 'Johnny B. Goode'—which sold over 5 million copies—fused country and blues into a new art form, providing the DNA for the British Invasion. Keith Richards called him 'the man who invented rock and roll guitar,' a claim reinforced by Berry's influence being faster than the average pioneer's, as his riffs were adopted by #2 Eric Clapton and #3 Jimmy Page within just five years of his debut.