Posted on 04/30/2017 5:08:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
The man who was as essential as Elvis Presley to making a music form (Rock ‘n’ Roll) a central part of the world the last 60 years has left us. Don McLean wrote about the music dying with the loss of the great Buddy Holly in his song classic, American Pie; but, with the passing of Chuck Berry, the music did die.
His career did not have an auspicious beginning. He left the security of his stable family life in a Black area of St. Louis to break some laws and end up with a 10-year sentence for armed robbery at the age of 18. His most notable musical experience before being released from jail at the age of 21 was singing in the prison choir as delineated in Brown Eyed Handsome Man by Bruce Pegg.
By his mid-20s he was fronting a band, playing the local circuit. Pegg writes of Berry’s ambitious efforts to move up the musical ladder as Rock was just bursting on the scene. Most Black artists were releasing songs that would climb the Billboard R & B chart to have their song covered by a white musical act that would significantly out sell the original recording. Those were the days of Race music when radio play for artists like Berry were in question as to whether the White audience would accept them. Berry wanted to change that.
Berry was introduced to Leonard Chess by Muddy Waters. Berry wanted to start a recording career and the Chicago entrepreneur was the vehicle for that. Though other Black artists had successful R & B hits, Berry’s Maybelline became the first cross-over hit climbing the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1955, eventually reaching No. 5. Berry’s hit became a cultural phenomenon and significant moment for Black Americans.1956 saw Berry releasing multiple classic songs, but he was eclipsed on the pop charts by other Black artists like Fats Domino who had a series of hits. Berry continued to roll out song after song, culminating in the 1958 release of his seminal song and the seminal song of the Rock ‘n’ Roll era – Johnny B. Goode. The autobiographical song cemented him in the history of music.
Rock ‘n’ Roll went through various changes in the next few years as the White establishment fought back with a series of acts like Bobby Darin, Fabian, Bobby Rydell and Paul Anka until the British invasion started in 1963. Berry was again thrust to the front of the music scene as both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones released covers of his hit songs as part of their adaptation to the American market. The first single the Stones ever released was a cover of the Berry hit Come On.
In 2011, Rolling Stone published a list of the top 500 Rock ‘n’ Roll songs of all time. Lists like this are completely subjective. Their choices are admirable, but there is no question what the No. 1 Rock ‘n’ Roll song of all time is -- Johnny B. Goode. They did list it at No. 7, but the song is far and away the definitive Rock song. The lyrics speak of essential elements of Rock and the music is superior. There has almost never been a garage band or any band that could not play and sing this song. Name another Rock song as ubiquitous. Everyone knows the lyrics and certainly the chorus by heart. It is the essential Rock song.
Rolling Stone did justice putting Maybelline at No. 18, but abused both Roll Over Beethoven and Rock & Roll Music, listing them at No. 97 and No. 129 respectively. These two songs are easily in the top 25 Rock songs of all time. There is a reason the Beatles recorded both early in their career. The sad thing is some people probably think they are Beatles songs.
These four songs and a boatload more by Mr. Berry changed the sounds we all hear and are the foundation on which Rock was built.
God bless you, Chuck. You changed the world.
I think that bathroom thing cost him millions to settle. He went to prison (late 50’s or early 60’s) for taking a 14-year-old across state lines for prostitution. I don’t doubt his talent, but he was vile.
“seizure of Berry’s porn collection, however, led to a scandalous 1993 report in the since-defunct Spy magazine that went way beyond the earlier scandals — revealing a penchant for sexual fetishes involving bodily excretions and a predilection for spying on women in bathrooms.
The magazine described a homemade video in which Berry and “an attractive blond white woman” both relieved themselves during a New Year’s Eve romp in the bathroom of a hotel suite in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
The report also detailed how Berry allegedly installed hidden cameras in the women’s restroom at the Southern Air restaurant in Wentzville after he bought it in 1987. One camera “was evidently behind the toilet seat,” according to Spy, while others captured “aerial views of the toilets’ contents during the seconds after the women stood but before they flushed”
So in other words... it wasn’t the women he was interested in seeing...it was their POOP! Serious? Why?????
... and the things you guys are mentioning isn’t even the thing I was thinking about.
Google it. It’s too disgusting to relate here.
As for Chuck being the “king of rock and roll”... nonsense. He was a great songwriter and a mediocre performer (at best). Many people could (and did) take his numbers and perform them better than he did. On the other hand, people rarely covered Elvis numbers because they KNEW they couldn’t compete with his performances.
“...... and the things you guys are mentioning isn’t even the thing I was thinking about.”
Clarification - you posted just before I did. The “Spy” magazine report is what I was thinking about.
Chuck was good, but I prefer Bo Diddley.
Toy Bell--The Bees (1954)
And that demands an answer!
The Real Thing--The Spiders (1954)
Roll Over Beethoven--The Four Chaps (1956)
Wee, Wee Hours (1955)
Personally, I think rock-and-roll music is vile. But that's just me.
No thanks on his life story, I want to hear great rock and roll, not read about and judge people.
To this day, I feel bad about walking out.
No thanks on his life story, I want to hear great rock and roll, not read about and judge people.
—
We differ, then. To me, if people behave like dirtbags, they deserve to be “judged” and have consumers express their displeasure by not buying their products.
Yes, yes, we’re all deeply flawed. But Berry’s particular . . . proclivities were especially nasty.
Is there any legal documentation to this claim? Chuck was charged and found guilty. See the difference?
The Monster--Billy Ford & the Thunderbirds (1958)
He was a musical genius.
And his skill with lyrics gets overlooked because - he invented R&R guitar.
Promised Land is my favorite.
So many especially in the 60’s kind of get back-burnered. Come On, You Never Can Tell, etc.
The “white establishment” didn’t “fight back.” There was room for all good performers back then. If there hadn’t been, they would have never allowed foreign entertainers in.
I agree. Elvis was great but Chuck was king. Elvis grew in stature after his Army stint.
Both men had a repertoire of classics that were covered by hundreds, maybe thousands, of bands since.
George Thorogood made a career of covering Chuck Berry and was primarily responsible for introducing me to the originals. Than you have "Pulp Fiction" movie in which the very best moment was that dancing to "Never Can Tell" in that upscale hamburger joint.
My favorite Chuck Berry movie moment however was in "Back to the Future" when Chuck Berry's cousin excitedly phoned Chuck about "that new sound you've been looking for."
Exactly. I noticed the same line. This is a perfect example of the gratuitous race-baiting that Leftist writers insert into their articles. In some cases it might even be subconscious, but most of the time it's just deliberate divisiveness...
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