Chuck Berry celebrates 90th birthday with first new album in almost four decades

Chuck Berry has celebrated his 90th birthday by announcing plans to release his first new album in nearly four decades.

The musician – real name Charles Anderson – will release Chuck 38 years after his last studio album, Rock It.

In a statement Berry said the album will be a tribute to his wife of 68 years, Themetta.

“This record is dedicated to my beloved Toddy," he said. "My darlin’ I’m growing old! I’ve worked on this record for a long time. Now I can hang up my shoes!”

Paul Roper, president of Dualtone Records, which plans to release the album next year said: “It is a great honor to be a part of this record and the broader legacy of Chuck Berry.

“This body of work stands with the best of his career and will further cement Chuck as one of the greatest icons of rock and roll.”

The album was recorded with his backing band which includes bassist Jimmy Marsala, pianist Robert Lohr, drummer Keith Robinson and his children Charles Berry Jr. (guitar) and Ingrid Berry (harmonica).

"What an honor to be part of this new music," Charles Berry Jr. said in a statement. "The St. Louis band, or as dad called us 'the Blueberry Hill Band,' fell right into the groove and followed his lead.

“These songs cover the spectrum from hard driving rockers to soulful thought provoking time capsules of a life's work."

Berry - who was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986 - was famous for hits including Johnny B. Goode and Roll Over Beethoven.

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