BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- He will turn 80 on Wednesday, but rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry still rocks and he still does the "signature" duck walk he first made famous in the 1950s.

Berry, who often shares the crown and title "King of Rock 'n' Roll" with Elvis Presley, helped define the genre with classics such as "Johnny B. Goode," Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven," which was later covered by The Beatles who credited Berry with inspiring their early music.

He could easily sit back on his laurels, but Berry says he has plenty left to play and say. He still performs regularly at an intimate nightclub in St. Louis, his hometown, as well as venues from Las Vegas to London, saying "these shows keep me alive.”

Early next year, Berry will release a CD of new material, his first commercial release in more than 20 years.

"There's some stuff that will surprise people," his piano player, Robert Lohr, said. "It's Chuck Berry meets Ray Charles, black gospel meets country. There's one song,'Big Boys,'that is classic top-shelf Chuck Berry."

At his 75th birthday concert, Berry was celebrated by Little Richard on stage, while best wishes poured in from Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, David Bowie, Bo Diddley and other music icons.

The celebration for his 80th will be a more intimate affair — a dinner party with family and close friends, and a late-night performance at Blueberry Hill, where he has given legendary concerts in the "Duck Room” one night a month since 1996.

When he struts on stage Wednesday night, Berry will sling his guitar with an ease belying his age, and scoot across the stage in his famous one-legged hop, his extended leg kicking off the stage.

The concerts draw visitors from around the world, and satisfy Berry's nostalgic yearning for the smaller venues of his earliest "$4-a-night" gigs in the 1950s, friend and Blueberry Hill owner Joe Edwards said.

In recent years, Berry's been joined by his guitarist son, Charles Berry Jr., and daughter Ingrid Berry Clay, on vocals and harmonica. Berry treasures performing with his kids, Edwards said.

Still lean and agile, Berry, will surely please the crowd with his signature duck walk, the iconic crouched move he patented in a 1956 performance in New York. It's a move imitated by rockers ever since.

"He intuitively choreographed the first stage moves of the rock era, setting the tone for what a rock performance could be visually as well as through the music," Edwards said. "He used the guitar as a foil on stage, moving it around his back and in front of him. Jimi Hendrix and all that followed got it all from him first." Enditem

(Agencies)