10 Chuck Berry Images to Remember the Rock 'n' Roll Trailblazer

Chuck Berry, the man who helped shape rock 'n' roll music and whose influence can be seen in every major rock act the world over, has died. He was 90.

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

Put another way: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry,'" John Lennon once said.

A singer, guitarist, and songwriter with hits such as "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958) to his name, Berry played a key role in the development of what rock 'n' roll music means today.

Here are 10 photos of Chuck Berry's iconic life in music:

"I am so sad to hear of Chuck Berry's passing," The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger tweeted. "I want to thank him for all the inspirational music he gave to us . . . He lit up our teenage years, and blew life into our dreams of being musicians and performers . . . His lyrics shone above others & threw a strange light on the American dream. Chuck you were amazing & your music is engraved inside us forever." (Screengrab of Twitter post)

(Chuckberry.com/photo-gallery/)

Rock and Roll musician Chuck Berry performs at a Rep. Dick Gephardt ralley in Des Moines, Iowa Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004. (AP Photo/The Iowa State Daily, Jeff Christian)

The statue of singer and musician Chuck Berry serves as a memorial as people stop to pay their respects to the music legend in University City, Missouri, on March 19, 2017. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)

Teddy Kogos, of Vintage Vinyl, changes the marquee at the famed record store on the Delmar Loop in University City, Missouri, to mark the death of music legend Chuck Berry on Saturday, March 18, 2017. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

American singer and guitarist Chuck Berry poses with his Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him at the 26th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, Tuesday night, Feb. 28, 1984. (AP Photo)

President-elect Bill Clinton, left center, gives a high-five to Chuck Berry, right, during the finale of the Presidential Gala at the Capital Centre, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 1993, Landover, Maryland. At left is Michael Jackson, crouched. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta/Pool)

Performer Chuck Berry listens for the crowd to sing to him during the performance of his hit song "Johnny B. Goode" at the concert for the Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Saturday, Sept. 2, 1995. Berry was the opening act of the concert. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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(Screengrab of Twitter post)

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