Sweet Little Rock & Rollers

The sound of rock and roll began in the hands of Charles Edward Anderson Berry. Here are some of the guitars that helped him make history.

- By David Mead

When the Chess record label released Chuck Berry's Maybellene” in 1955, a new sound was born. Berry had cleverly melded an old country tune with some up-tempo rhythm and blues, introduced some lyrics involving a car chase and the deal was done. But it was 1958's “Johnny B. Goode” that changed the face of popular music forever, with a guitar intro that would echo down the decades, influencing generations of guitar players. Chuck had the pick of the guitar hardware from the 1950s, and he quickly showed a preference for Gibson's thinline instruments, starting with the 1956 Gibson ES-350TN.

1956 GIBSON ES-350TN & 1959 GIBSON ES-350T

Of all the guitars that Chuck Berry used in his lifetime, two are predominant: the Gibson ES-350T and ES-335. The evolution of the ES-350 really began back in 1940 with the introduction of the ES-300, a 17-inchwide archtop with a carved maple top and slant-mounted pickup, an elongated affair that traced a diagonal line between the bass and treble strings.