Duckwalk

The duckwalk is a stage element of guitar showmanship popularized by Chuck Berry. The duckwalk is performed by going in the squatting position and moving forward, letting one lower leg swing back and forth in the air while playing the guitar.

While the origins of the duckwalk have been traced as far back as T-Bone Walker who already during the 1930s performed dance moves while playing his guitar, it was Chuck Berry who made the duckwalk popular and who is often credited as the inventor. In his autobiography Berry states that he used to perform the duckwalk as a child to entertain his family. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine he also claimed that it was in a 1956 show in New York City that he performed it for the first time in order to hide pleats in his silk suit. As the audience loved these moves, he did them again and again.