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Happy 84th Birthday Chuck Berry!!!

jaxson50

By jaxson50
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jaxson50

jaxson50

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A little trivia about Mr. Berry;

 

Food: Enjoys beef and seafood, peaches, home fries, candied yams, chili, grape soda, orange juice, Snickers bars and Dutch apple pie. Despises liver, okra, gumbo, celery, carrots, cooked onions, grapefruit, salami and liquor.

 

Hobbies: Playing music, softball, twenty questions, chess, croquet, highway driving

 

Comedians: Lucille Ball

 

Has been married to Themetta "Toddy" Suggs since 1948

 

A few quotes about Mr. Berry;

 

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."

-- John Lennon

 

"Berry's On Top is probably my favorite record of all time; it defines rock and roll. A lot of people have done Chuck Berry songs, but to get that feel is really hard. It's the rock and roll thing--the push-pull and the rhythm of it."

-- guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith

 

"All of Chuck's children are out there playing his licks."

-- Bob Seger, Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets

 

"There's only one true king of rock 'n' roll. His name is Chuck Berry."

-- Stevie Wonder

 

"[My mama] said, 'You and Elvis are pretty good, but you're no Chuck Berry.'"

-- Jerry Lee Lewis

 

"To me, Chuck Berry always was the epitome of rhythm and blues playing, rock and roll playing. It was beautiful, effortless, and his timing was perfection. He is rhythm supreme. He plays that lovely double-string stuff, which I got down a long time ago, but I'm still getting the hang of. Later I realized why he played that way--because of the sheer physical size of the guy. I mean, he makes one of those big Gibsons look like a ukulele!"

-- guitarist Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones

 

"Of all the early breakthrough rock and roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers."

-- Cub Koda

 

"While Elvis was a country boy who sang "black" to some degree ... Chuck Berry provided the mirror image where country music was filtered through an R&B sensibility."

-- Clive Anderson

 

"Well, Chuck Berry is the first singer-songwriter I know of."

-- Roy Orbison

 

"You are most certainly the inspiration for all of today's rock 'n' roll guitarists. Your music is timeless."

-- Motown legend Smokey Robinson

 

Chuck Berry is "a musical scientist who discovered a cure for the blues.''

-- singer Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

"the epitome of what it is to be a rock 'n' roll guitar player, songwriter and singer."

-- Joan Jett

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milod

milod

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Okay...

 

As one who was getting into "rock" during the era of its birth, I'd not say that Chuck "invented" Rock and Roll, but I'd agree that his influence probably shaped in far more than a lot of people would care to admit.

 

Part of that would include his songs, surely; the rhythms, the words - and something I'd almost want to call a "joyful" approach to music even if it's a complaint about a cheating girlfriend. His use of the Gibson semi was something I'd say may be about as important an influence as his technique. You've gotta remember that there wasn't much fancy on the amps in those days and what you hear is a lot more "pure" that a lotta guitar stuff just a few years later. And electric guitars as we know them were very, very new in the marketplace.

 

I try to compare his ledes with the double stops with a lotta others in those early days of guitar bands and "lead guitar" players and they're more complex rhythms too. And there were good pickers in those days, too. The comment about him being the black guy who added "country" to R&B of the day is pretty much "on." A lotta the older country pickers would do their leads with double stops too. Some country pickers still do that 'stedda single stringing.

 

But that era... it was as unique as our own today. There were just a few major record companies and a batch of new ones were popping out of the woodwork in an age of perhaps unparalleled economic and technological growth up until then. The opportunities, in my opinion, to become a "rock star" were far better than today because there were so few outlets and once you were "there," you were there. There was plenty of talent to fill the new musical style and Berry was right there.

 

Berry also extended the "show" side of a dance or concert gig too - quite a bit more than had been used prior to the 1950s in most music styles.

 

So instead of calling him the pappa of Rock, let's just say that IMHO, it would not be even close to rock and roll as it's known today without Chuck Berry. Period.

 

m

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L5Larry

L5Larry

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A few other milestones in the life of Chuck Berry:

 

1944 - Convicted of armed robbery for stealing a car at gunpoint. Sent to reform school and released on his 21st birthday in 1947.

 

1963 - Sentenced to three years in prison under the "Mann Act", for transporting a 14 year old girl across state lines for "immoral purposes"

 

1979 - Charged with, and pleaded guilty to, tax evasion. Sentenced to four months prison and community service.

 

1990 - Sued by a group of women who claimed he had installed video cameras in the ladies restroom of a restaurant he owned. A police raid of his home did find video tapes of women using the restroom (one was a minor), and a kilo of pot. He was charged with felony drug and child abuse charges. He was given a "suspended" jail sentence, fined, and paid an "out of court" settlement to 59 women totaling around 1.2 million dollars.

 

2000 - Was sued by his longtime piano player, Johnnie Johnson, for unpaid royalties due for co-writing many of Chuck's biggest hits. The case was dismissed when the judge ruled that too much time had passed since the songs were written. Johnnie Johnson died a few years later in poverty, while Chuck lives in one of the ritziest suburbs of St. Louis.

 

The information above is a matter of public record. I knew, and have played with Chuck Berry, and have many mutual acquaintances in the business. I could add personal and second hand stories to the above list but see no need to, I don't want to get sued for slander or defamation of character (even if it's true), but I think the public record speaks for itself.

 

I know there is always two schools of thought about separating the music and the musician (wasn't there a recent thread about that), but if you want to learn a little about the "musician", pick up the anniversary edition (or director's cut, whatever they call it), of "Hail, Hail, Rock & Roll", there's a couple of discs of "extra" material that I think you will find very interesting.

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milod

milod

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Larry...

 

Yupper on every point. I was just hitting on the music side. But... Seriously, I think Berry also is an excellent example of his own era both in culture and in music.

 

We get so caught up in current perspectives that we often forget that the 1940s and '50s were a very different era.

 

As you're probably more aware than I am, rock inherited much of its "sex and drugs" image from the earlier and parallel music scenes. Some of the typical comments about females in the 1950s probably helped the "feminist movement" of the '60s and 70s, but were far from politically correct today. Ditto many comments in North American English, at least, in terms of at what age a female might be considered a valid ... uhhhhh ... target.

 

Etc., etc., etc.

 

Seriously, I think that Berry could be the focus of quite a few scholarly articles on subjects ranging from performance styles popular culture to "civil rights" to the fusion of musical styles in the post WWII era to... the music business and U.S. culture in general.

 

m

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DanvillRob

DanvillRob

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I worked with Chuck back in the 60's in San Francisco. He was a true showman. We opened for him at the Longshoreman's Hall.

 

I did some business dealings with him several years ago, (I investigate bus/truck/motor home fires). Chuck's motor home caught fire and the only thing he saved was his guitar. His insurance company wouldn't cover his losses because his motor home, (Holiday Rambler Diesel pusher), was insured as a "private vehicle" and he was using it for touring, (business). And he was always a gentleman throughout the whole deal.

 

I agree with Milo. If Chuck didn't "invent" Rock 'n Roll, he sure invented it's most basic licks!

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BigKahune

BigKahune

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Happy B'day to Chuck.

 

 

 

...a matter of public record. I knew, and have played with Chuck Berry, and have many mutual acquaintances in the business. I could add personal and second hand stories to the above list but see no need to, I don't want to get sued for slander or defamation of character (even if it's true), but I think the public record speaks for itself. ...

 

Yep, even though, over the years, people have found him severely lacking in morals, ethics and respect for the law, they still listen to him, know him, play with him and share acqaintences. Oddly incongruent ... but for some, it's just about the talent and the art.

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jaxson50

jaxson50

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L5Larry

It is a good idea to separate the private life from the public persona. Otherwise we would all be in jail.

Well, maybe not me.... <_<

Certainly most of the top rock stars of the past 60 years would be...

As for who was the "father of Rock n' Roll,,,most pop music know it all's give that title to Ike Turner, his "Rocket 88" is considered the first R n R song ever recorded,,but he didn't write it, so maybe the guy who wrote it should take the title...

We all know what a outstanding guy Ike was...

Maybe Jerry Lee Lewis who married his 13 year old cousin when he was in his 23.

I can't think of any who would be considered "clean" with the exception of Pat Boone.

Les Paul would be the logical pick, without his contribution to the recording industry, not to mention the obvious, the LP, rock would not have happened.

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