Rolling Stones sent guitar-shaped flower arrangement to rock’n’roller’s funeral in St Louis, where he died about three weeks ago at age 90Fans lined up before dawn on Sunday to pay their final respects to Chuck Berry, roughly three weeks after his death at age 90 near his hometown of St Louis. Among the flower arrangements inside the hall was one in the shape of a guitar sent by the Rolling Stones, one of the many bands profoundly influenced by the St Louis rock‘n’roller. When Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards spoke about Berry at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 1986 induction ceremony – Berry was the first person inducted from that inaugural class – he said Berry was the one who started it all. Well before the rise of Bob Dylan, Berry wedded social commentary to the beat and rush of popular music. “Everything I wrote about wasn’t about me, but about the people listening,” Berry once said.

Source: The Guardian April 09, 2017 14:37 UTC