Rock legend Chuck Berry's death Saturday at 90 was met by an outpouring of tributes and remembrances — including from two former baby boomer presidents — that underscored how vital Berry was to the development of American music.
Former President Barack Obama paid tribute with a tweet Sunday morning. "Chuck Berry rolled over everyone who came before him — and turned up everyone who came after. We'll miss you, Chuck. Be good," Obama wrote.
Former President Bill Clinton, who gave Berry a Kennedy Center award in 2000, said both his wife, Hillary, and he "loved Chuck Berry for as long as we can remember."
"The man was inseparable from his music — both were utterly original and distinctly American. He made our feet move and our hearts more joyful. And along the way, he changed our country and the history of popular music," the 42nd president said in a statement. "Chuck played at both my inaugurations and at the White House for my 25th Georgetown reunion, and he never slowed down."
In the rock world, the tributes were just as laudatory. "He lit up our teenage years and blew life into our dreams of being musicians and performers," Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger tweeted. "His lyrics shone above others & threw a strange light on the American dream. Chuck, you were amazing & your music is engraved inside us forever."
"Hail hail Chuck Berry!!!" Lenny Kravitz tweeted. "None of us would have been here without you."
The Recording Academy, which awarded Berry a lifetime achievement award in 1984, referred to Berry as "arguably the founding father of rock and roll."
"Not just because he was one of its greatest songwriters and established some of the electric guitar's earliest and most memorable riffs, but also because he was one of music's most palpably exciting entertainers and biggest personalities," academy President Neil Portnow said in a statement.
