Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Electric Guitar, 1981

Chuck Berry Electric Guitar, 1981

Gibson ES 335

Collection of Chuck Berry

While no single individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together. It was his particular genius to graft country & western guitar licks onto a rhythm & blues chasis in his very first single, “Maybellene.

Electric Guitar


The Beatles' Table Top Promotional Display for Parlophone Records, 1963

Photo by Design Photography
Collection of Peter J. Howard / ICE Magazine