When Chuck Berry came to Brooklyn
The Late Rock Icon Performed at the Fortway Theater in 1972
With the passing of Chuck Berry on Saturday, popular music lost one of its true legends and rock ‘n’ roll lost its founding father. Berry died at his home in St. Louis, Missouri after spending his last years working on his final album. And while his career found him performing all over the world, the borough of Brooklyn had him for one memorable day when he performed in 1972 at the now-shuttered Fortway Theater at 6720 Fort Hamilton Parkway.
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born on Oct. 18, 1926 in San Jose, California. As a teenager he was sent to reform school for three years on a burglary charge. He worked for General Motors and studied hairdressing before forming a trio that became popular in St. Louis.
In 1955 legendary bluesman Muddy Waters introduced Berry to Phil and Leonard Chess of Chess Records. And that’s when it all began for Berry. That same year he reached No. 5 on the pop charts with his first hit, “Maybellene,” which was a rock adaptation of the country standard “Ida Red.”