Berry's first hit, "Maybelline", was in 1955. Ace's was in 1952. One guy I know who was in school in the early 50s said Bill Haley was the first rocknroll he had ever heard but even though "Rock Around the Clock" came out in '54, it wasn't a hit until '55 when it was featured in "Blackboard Jungle." Haley did release some bashers in '53 such as "Crazy, Man, Crazy" and his cover of Ike Turner's "Rocket 88" but these didn't chart well.
Now, Elvis did start recording in 1953 but it wasn't rocknroll. It was Sam Phillips who envisioned Elvis singing black man's blues that caused him to switch over to it but that was in '54, the same year that Ace died. Ace had already had a slew of hits. Kids were already requesting his songs on the radio and making out in their cars to his music. So he was the first true rocknroll star.
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