Tumultuous life of the father of rock ‘n’ roll’

The Animals lead singer Eric Burdon has said Chuck Berry’s influence on the music world was so important that “anybody who was in the world of rock, rhythm and blues had to play it”.

Berry – who was hailed as the Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll – was pronounced dead at 1.26pm (6.26pm GMT) on Saturday police said.

Burdon and The Animals toured with Berry in May 1964 when he performed in the UK. He told BBC Breakfast: “He was very kind to me. A lot of people had different opinions of him, but he was very kind to me.

“He took me to lunch a couple of times and gave me a fair warning about how tough it could be in the music world and to be careful with my money.”

Recalling their time together, Burdon said his fondest memory of Berry occurred after his performance at the then-named Hammersmith Odeon, now known as the Hammersmith Apollo.

“The audience was going crazy for him to return to the stage and he was locked in his dressing room,” he said.

“Peter Grant and Don Arden were on their knees, passing money under the door to Chuck.

“Chuck was on the other side, counting it, saying: ‘Nah, it’s still another 500 bucks till I come out’; meanwhile, the audience were destroying the theatre. And that was just Chuck in a nutshell, he was (a) real tough businessman, he really took care of business and he took care of himself.

“And I’m glad that, in a way, when his time came to pass on, he’d done it with money in his bank and a lot of love all over the world from millions of people.”

Berry’s hits, such as Roll Over Beethoven and Rock And Roll Music, have influenced other music greats, such as the Beatles and Sir Tom Jones.

He also had a few brushes with the law, which saw him doing a few stints behind bars over the years.

On Berry’s life, Burdon said: “One has to remember that it’s not easy being black in America so you can kind of forgive the stints in prison as just being part of the American experience.”

Chuck Berry in 1975.