His twin brother, Check Berry, died today too.
His guitar playing was based on his awesome Boogie Woogie piano player, Johnnie Johnson’s, piano riffs. Interesting. But I’d rather listen to Johnnie. Chuck’s lyrics were abdo-lutely great Rock and Roll poetry.
RIP Chuck, you brought some good music to my ears over the years.
The greatest Rock ‘n Roller of all time. Bar none.
The fact most of his works started in E flat meant that the piano was his origin...Johnson. If it hadn’t been for Chuck, I’d never known about the Mann Act.
Chuck Berry.....R.I.P.!!! You were responsible for “Rock & Roll, coming of age, across the entire world!!! I loved you in the 1950s and I love you until this very day, and, then forever!!! You were not a perfect human being....but, were God’s great gift to America as you understood the essence of teenage culture in the 1950s & way beyond. God bless your magnificent talent, soul and being. Thank you, so much, great American!!! Millions of folks across the world will miss you!!!
Just what I was going to say. Makes me wonder if he knew the end was coming and wanted to make a final album, but he had decades to do that and he never did. He was a great originator but what always ticked me off about him is he sat on his laurels and never really took his talent further. He busted his butt in the 1950s and early 60s writing a ton a classic RnR songs and then once he got that “crown” it was to hell with the music and writing, I am “Chuck Berry inc.” now. He was all about money. If you wanted him to play in your town, you had to provide a band that knew his songs inside and out, NO rehearsals with the band, Chuck merely flew into town with his guitar, does the gig now pay him. I heard he even use to charge for “duck walks”. That’s all great and everything but I really think he wasted a hell of a lot of his talent doing that. He was a phenomenal lyricist, and he just “chucked” it out the window. This guy was doing rap decades before rap was even a concept..........
One of my favorites has always been “You can’t catch me”, I ALWAYS think of that song when I’m driving on the New Jersey Turnpike, and I know I am not the only one.....
I bought a brand-new air-mobile
It custom-made, ‘twas a Flight De Ville
With a pow’ful motor and some hideaway wings
Push in on the button and you can hear her sing
Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze
New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was rollin’ slowly ‘cause of drizzlin’ showers
Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me
Then come wavin’ by me in a little’ old souped-up jitney
I put my foot on my tank and I began to roll
Moanin’ siren, ‘twas the state patrol
So I let out my wings and then I blew my horn
Bye bye New Jersey, I’ve become airborne
Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze
Flyin’ with my baby last Saturday night
Not a gray cloud floatin’ in sight
Big full moon shinin’ up above
Cuddle up honey, be my love
Sweetest little thing I’ve ever seen
I’m gonna name you Maybellene
Flyin’ on the beam, set on flight control
Radio tuned to rock ‘n’ roll
Two, three hours passed us by
Five to two dropped to 5:05
Fuel consumption way too fast
Let’s get on home before we run out of gas
Now you can’t catch me, no baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze
This one you don’t have to belong to to read the whole story..
His sister was Lucy Williams, who played classical piano. The story is that he wrote Roll Over Beethoven in response to her complaints that she couldn’t practice her piano over his electric guitar practice. Chuck Berry wasn’t the first to play rock-and-roll guitar, but he was the first to popularize it, and by the end of the decade most rockers were guitarists rather than pianists. RIP.
When I was growing up in London in the early 70’s the most popular sing- a-long record on the jukebox was ‘always ‘My Ding a Ling’...everybody young and old loved that song...
RIP to a Rock n’ Roll icon..
“If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’,” John Lennon once said.
When the average person thinks of rock and roll, they normally think of Elvis Presley, who predated Chuck Berry.
Here’s my Chuck Berry story:
We were playing in Phoenix, and a group of friends had a band called “Gabriel,” a 9-piece horn band Chicago/Blood, Sweat & Tears style.
Berry was hired to do a big concert. He hired Gabriel. First, he showed up and we heard he demanded his money in cash, in a brown paper bag.
Second, he looked at the band and said to the horns, “I don’t use horns, so you’re fired.” He looked at the keyboard player and said, “I don’t need keyboards.” He looked at the guitarist and said, “I don’t need a rhythm guitar.” The only guys he kept of the nine was the drummer and bass player :)
RIP.
I always considered him the REAL KING OF ROCK AND ROLL.
RIP to the best there ever was. Even his cousin Marvin and Calvin Kline knew hew was destined for greatness.
He sang “Brown-eyed Handsome Man,” one of my favorites. Thanks for the memories, Chuck.
Wish I could have seen him live. Saw Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee. Even saw Jimi Hendrix. But Chuck was the REAL king of Rock and Roll.
Of all the “founders, only the Killer is still alive.
R.I.P.