Chuck Berry one of the founders of rock and roll and one of its most influential musicians died at age 90. It is impossible to relate his influence on so many musicians. Both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones said he was a big influence on their music.
One of the Berry stories I remember was when he was performing at an oldies concert here in Atlanta. The night of the show, he refused to go on until he was paid in cash. Many of the people involved in putting on the show had to rush to ATM machines to get enough cash to pay Chuck.
When I lived in St. Louis, Chuck would often come into town from his home outside St. Louis and sit in when Billy Peek was playing at a club. We heard a rumor that Chuck would play with Peek one night and a bunch of my friends and I rushed up to the club but it was too crowded and we couldn’t get in. we had to listen to Chuck from the outside.
He was busted for videoing girls in the bathroom at his farm in Wentzville where he put on shows.
Quite a character and a great rocker.
“Hail hail rock and roll!”
Because of him, I enjoyed the music known to us as Rock and Roll growing up in the 60’s and 70’s. Music that enriched my life and made my life better. they don’t make people like him anymore. Incredible artist and enormous influence on so many other musicians and writers in the music industry. On a sad note. I told one of the younger boarders at the house about his passing, he said ‘Chuck who?” After I told him he went back to his online video game with his friends shooting aliens.
The song Johnny B Goode was the one I heard most growing up. Sung by many.
After being screwed so many times on payment, his usual contract over the years became $11,000 cash to play your event –
Upfront.
+ you had to provide the backing band. It was expected they would know all of his songs and he did not use a set list…
If he liked the band he would then pay them $1,000.
I was surprised that it was Chuck Berry who made the song “My Ding-A-Ling” his only #1 hit in 1972. The song was originally written by Dave Bartholomew.
y’know, politicians and “world leaders” may come and go, but its guys like Chuck that really enrich our lives. Rock on, Dude!
Rest in peace, Chuck.
Their really Sad in Boston, Pittsburg Pa, Deep in the heart of Texas , Around the Frisco bay, all over St Louie & way down in New Orleans….everybody is so sad, Even Sweet Little Sixteen……Chuck has left the stage & is gone! Rest in Peace, We will never forget you.
So many of those brought the music of our youth to us have departed & even fewer remain….damn! Sad so very Sad!
Nicely done, Dudley1.
His Lyrics ,I just posted them…..Back in the day I was Wild Bill the Dancing Machine, 55 years later & two replacement Knees, here I am dudley1 with memories of a rock & roll youth….Sigh but it was one hell of a trip!
Roll Over Beethoven, Make Room For Another Great.
I’m not sad. He was 90 years old! Quite a good run. Celebrate his life and hope the new CD “Chuck” is eventually released.
Yeah, he helped develop a fun way to play the guitar; kind of like finger painting, with lots of doublestops and slides and slurs. R.I.P. C.B.
Chuck Berry’s contributions to Rock n’ Roll were monumental. His support for Obama was a negligible matter. But what was disconcerting was Mr. Berry’s less than stellar other “records”: A three year stint (1944 to 1947) in a reformatory for armed robbery . A 1 1/2 year stint in the jail (1962 to 1963) for Mann Act violations and immoral purposes with a 14 year old girl; A tax evasion charge, conviction, and prison time in 1979 and, in 1990, charges, a class action settlement (59 women involved in that one), for a camera placed in the women’s bathroom at his Missouri club – and a subsequent raid on his home revealing tapes of women in that bathroom, including that of a minor. But then, again, look at Bill Cosby.
If he had gone into politics with that record instead of rock & roll , he would probably been a close political associate of Bill Clinton, in the Obama administration or a Congressman in the Democratic Black Caucus.
I prefer he being the Rock & Roll legend myself.