Chuck Berry was playing in my house and my grandparents' house so [his music] was [always] around. I think I really became conscious of how popular he was [when] — this sounds kind of silly to say, but I grew up in the '80s — Michael J. Fox played the Chuck Berry thing [in Back To The Future]. I was maybe 7 or 8 and saw him on TV this guy, this icon … I used to watch every award show and he'd be there. So I don't remember not knowing who Chuck Berry is.
[Then] I opened up for him in Austin, Texas, but I never met him. He just pulled up in his white Lincoln, hopped up onstage, got the money, and got out of there. This was when I was 21, so around the early 2000s.
I stayed and watched after I played and he was incredible, full of energy, duck walking — he played great. It was fun and wild and loose. It was cool, man. He was an icon standing there in my hometown doing his thing.
I may have only been 21, but I was pretty conscious and aware of what was happening and what I was a part of. The thing that I had in my mind the most was back then I was playing a lot more straight-ahead blues and rock and roll stuff and the whole time I was thinking, "Just whatever you do, don't play his licks all night. Try not to do Chuck Berry for Chuck Berry." But I felt I was a part of something and in those years I was moving around, meeting a lot of people — when you're young you meet these crazy icons, these people who paved the way.
But looking back to my early 20s and being on a bill with somebody like that is pretty amazing and there's a little bit of pressure and responsibility that goes with that. It's kind of a big deal, but yeah, I definitely appreciate those moments and understand how major they are for me as an artist.
There are a couple of songs in particular where you hear his influence in my music. There's one in particular called "Travis County" and there's another one called "Shotgun Man" that I did when I was a little kid and originally it was like a folk song and I just kind of switched it and got in Chuck Berry mode.
These are direct Chuck Berry influences that I knew. Anytime I am playing, I'll go, "I can't do that, I gotta get back into my own thing." But it is rock and roll. He invented it and his spirit will continue to last in a lot of music. Think of classic rock, it's Chuck Berry licks with a little distortion and some fuzz. It's everywhere and in my music [and] it's definitely a lasting influence. That's one of those things you pick up and you can't shake. Chuck Berry is everything.
Want more Chuck Berry? Watch his 1984 Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech
(GRAMMY winner Gary Clark Jr. performed "Born Under A Bad Sign" alongside William Bell at the 59th GRAMMY Awards. His latest album, Live/North America 2016, was released March 17.)