Chuck Berry Net Worth: How Rich American Singer Chuck Berry?

Chuck Berry Net Worth

Chuck Berry was an American singer, guitarist, and composer who is regarded as one of the forefathers of rock and roll music. He was born and raised in Mississippi. When Chuck Berry passed away, he was estimated to have had a net worth of $10 million.

In the 1950s, he had a string of hits including “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Johnny B. Goode,” all of which made a vital contribution to the development of the genre. Berry was one of the first musical artists to be admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame upon its establishment in 1986. This was due to the important effect that Berry had on the music industry.

Chuck Berry Early Life And Career Beginning

Chuck Berry was the youngest of three children born to Henry Berry, a Baptist deacon, and Martha Berry, a public school principal. Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1926.

Early on in life, he shown an interest in music by performing in front of an audience for the first time in 1941, while he was a student at Sumner High School. After being caught for armed robbery and vehicle theft in 1944, he was transferred to the Intermediate Reformatory for Young Men in Algoa, which is located close to Jefferson City.

During his time there, he created a singing quartet, and on his 21st birthday in 1947, he was finally allowed to leave.

Berry put himself through the Poro College of Cosmetology so that he could provide for his family by doing a variety of odd jobs in St. Louis. These occupations included working in a factory and as a janitor. He worked with local bands to supplement his income and in 1953 he began performing with pianist Johnnie Johnson’s trio.

Johnnie Johnson was his mentor. On November 12, 1955, Chuck received a phone call from his cousin Marvin Berry, who introduced him to rock and roll for the first time. This is the date that is commonly accepted as the event.

Chuck Berry Success With Chess Records

Berry met the blues musician Muddy Waters on his trip to Chicago in 1955. Waters suggested that Berry get in touch with the executive at Chess Records, Leonard Chess. Shortly after that, Berry went into the studio and recorded an improved version of “Ida Red,” which he renamed “Maybellene.”

The song was a great success, selling more than one million copies, and quickly climbing to the top spot on the rhythm and blues list on Billboard. Berry enjoyed yet another measure of success the following year with his single “Roll Over Beethoven,” which peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Top 100.

Near the end of 1957, Berry went on tour around the United States with a number of other artists, including Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. Berry continued to be successful for the rest of the decade, scoring more than a dozen singles that reached number one on the charts. The songs “School Days,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Sweet Little Sixteen” were all among his top ten successes in the United States.

At the close of the 1950s, Berry had already established himself as a great celebrity, and he even made cameo appearances in movies like “Rock Rock Rock” and “Go, Johnny, Go!” In addition to this, he started investing in real estate and built a nightclub in St. Louis that welcomed people of all racial backgrounds.

However, in December of 1959, Berry was taken into custody on suspicions of engaging in sexual activity with a waitress who was just 14 years old. In 1960, he was found guilty of the charges and ordered to serve five years in prison. After his appeal, the judge sentenced him to three years in prison. In the end, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison and was freed in 1963.

Chuck Berry Mercury Records And Return To Chess

Berry immediately resumed his career as a performer and a recording artist once he was granted his freedom. Between 1964 and 1965, he issued a total of eight singles, the most successful of which were titled “No Particular Place to Go,” “You Never Can Tell,” and “Nadine.”

After that, Berry worked with Mercury Records to produce five albums that were released between 1966 and 1969. Even if his work in the studio at this period was not a tremendous success, he continued to be one of the most popular draws for concertgoers.

During the 1960s, he had a very successful tour in the United Kingdom and also performed at some of the most prestigious locations in North America, such as Central Park and the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival event.

Berry was employed by Chess Records once again from 1970 till 1973. The singer attained a new level of fame in 1972 when his live version of the novelty song “My Ding-a-Ling” became a number-one hit. This was the only number-one single that Berry had achieved during his career. His final Top 40 success was a live version of “Reelin’ and Rockin’,” which was released the following year.

In 1975, Berry published an album under his own name, and in 1979, he released “Rockit” under the label Atco Records. After those two albums, he wouldn’t record another studio album for another 38 years. Berry was still on tour when he was hit with criminal sanctions from the Internal Revenue Service.

In the end, he decided to plead guilty to evading taxes to the federal government and was given a sentence of four months in jail and 1,000 hours of community service. He fulfilled the community service requirement by giving charity concerts.

Chuck Berry Late Career And Legal Troubles

Berry continued to tour alone in the 1980s, playing with local bands wherever he went. A lady was assaulted at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City in 1987, and he pleaded guilty to a lesser offence and was fined.

In 1990, a number of women sued Berry, claiming that he had installed a toilet video camera to spy on them. He chose an out-of-court settlement for a class action lawsuit.

Salacious videotapes of ladies and a little child were allegedly discovered during a police search on his residence, along with 62 grammes of marijuana. Berry’s child abuse charges were dismissed, but he pleaded guilty to narcotics possession and was sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence with two years of probation.

Berry performed at Blueberry Hill, a St. Louis restaurant and bar, on a regular basis from 1996 through 2014. While in Europe, he also took a tour of the continent. Berry announced the impending release of “Chuck,” his first studio album since 1979, on the eve of his 90th birthday in October of that year. Among the performers were his children Ingrid and Charles Jr., who played harmonica and guitar on the album.

Chuck Berry Personal Life

Berry wed Themetta Suggs in 1948, and the couple welcomed their first child, Darlin Ingrid, in 1950. They went on to have three more children together: Aloha, Charles Jr., and Melody.

The couple invested in a cosy house made of brick on Whittier Street, which is now included on the National Register of Historic Places thanks to their purchase. In later years, Berry maintained a second residence close to Wentzville, Missouri. This property was notable for its guitar-shaped swimming pool.

On March 18, 2017, it was revealed that Berry was found unconscious close to his house in Wentzville. The funeral was conducted the month after he passed away in St. Louis at a music club called The Pageant, where he had regularly performed in the past.

After then, a private memorial ceremony was held in celebration of Berry’s life and work. Gene Simmons, lead singer for the rock band KISS, was among the three hundred people that attended the event.