Born Charles Edward Anderson Berry, he is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is widely considered one of the pioneers of rock and roll music, and together with few contemporaries (like Little Richard) the one who transformed rhythm and blues in the first 50s into rock and roll using newly fresh lyrics, guitar solos and showmanship. Songs as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), are the most popular examples of what would be a major influence on subsequent rock music all over the world.