Legendary rock musician Chuck Berry has reportedly died at the age of 90.

St. Charles Police is Missouri issued a release saying they were called to a medical emergency Saturday afternoon, where Berry was found unresponsive.

He could not be revived and was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. local time.

Berry once played a free concert to open a Chevy car dealership in Ladner.

In 1981, a huge crowd gathered to hear famous riffs played by the rock 'n' roll icon, who is seen in a 10-minute video posted to Youtube by user  a couple of years ago.

Berry's core repertoire was some three dozen songs, his influence incalculable, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to virtually any group from garage band to arena act that called itself rock 'n roll.

While Elvis Presley gave rock its libidinous, hip-shaking image, Berry was the auteur, setting the template for a new sound and way of life. Well before the rise of Bob Dylan, Berry wedded social commentary to the beat and rush of popular music.

"He was singing good lyrics, and intelligent lyrics, in the '50s when people were singing, "Oh, baby, I love you so,'" John Lennon once observed.

With files from the Associated Press

ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on and follow us on .