While the term ‘rock and roll’ may be seen as an outdated reference to any music that has guitars and isn’t ‘pop music’, it’s hard to pin down an act such as Pink Floyd as being a ‘rock and roll’ group.
Sure, songs like ‘Money’ have a rock and roll flavour, or rather, they incorporate elements of blues, but there was something far more avant-garde and unusual about what Pink Floyd did as a group, and they’ve subsequently been labelled as the godfathers of progressive, psychedelic and space rock. These are all genre classifications that the band have run with since their formation, and while they may have leaned into some of these more than others, it was the diversity of their sound that gained them recognition as a group.
That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t take influences from the true rock and roll icons of the 1950s and ‘60s, and because of the wide reach of that movement, it began to get incorporated into other styles. While the influence may not be apparent in certain acts, with Pink Floyd being a prime example, it was most certainly there, and they’ll happily admit that rock and roll, in its truest definition, helped pave the way for their more adventurous works.
Largely responsible for the introduction of rock and roll in the band’s early years was frontman Syd Barrett, but after his departure from the group following the release of A Saucerful of Secrets, the mantle was passed over to drummer Nick Mason, who had an equally strong admiration for rock and roll. While there are plenty of icons of the genre that they could have chosen to collectively look up to, it was one performer in particular who stood out to him.
Chuck Berry is often seen as the true ‘Father of Rock and Roll’, and he created waves of influence so big that they’re still felt today. His music may well feel dated, but it’s his approaches to utilising the guitar as the main source of a tune that others have continued to adopt over the years, while his electrifying lead playing was also nothing to be sniffed at.
In an interview for a Channel 4 documentary following the death of Berry, Mason would praise the guitarist for just how influential he has been throughout the history of rock music. “He meant a great deal,” Mason argued. “He’s one of the great icons of rock and roll. To explain that, you should just think about the fact that virtually every guitar player in the United Kingdom can play at least three Chuck Berry numbers.”
He continued by stating that “his music has been an influence on all of us for the last 50 years,” before arguing that it’s impossible to draw comparisons between him and his peers. “If you compare it to someone like Bill Haley, Bill Haley is so much just about the ’50s, but Chuck Berry is relevant today,” Mason concluded. It may not have been immediately obvious from the music of Pink Floyd, but there’s a definite element of Berry’s work in what they did as a group, as is there in virtually every other band to have picked up a guitar since.
