Chuck Berry was seminal. His singing and guitar virtuosity surpass the lyrics to his songs, except Jonny Be Good, assuming he wrote that one.
I saw Chuck live about six months ago. The guitar playing has gone down hill (he’s 86) however I was amazed at the tone of his voice. He wasn’t very loud but he was so spot on and his vocal quality was something that can’t be taught.
True, his songs were not usually “deep”, but at the same time, they set the standard for rock n roll songwriting that many followed.
Though, if you dig into his catalogue, he wrote some songs that weren’t just superficial stuff for teenie boppers. Those just didn’t sell, so who could blame him for sticking with the fluff, eh?