Universal Studios, Waterloo, Belgium. No early breakthrough rock & roll artist is more important to the development of the genre than Chuck Berry (1926-2017). Influenced by jazz and rhythm and blues, he was rock & roll's greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers. In this 1965 Face au Public TV episode, Chuck Berry plays a string of hit songs, including his 1956 smash hit âRoll Over Beethovenâ, âPromised Landâ and âJohnny B. Goodeâ. Chuck cuts loose on guitar and the conservative crowd finally gets it.