Chuck Berry, The Great Rock & Roll Legend Has Died

[munchmemory]

Just read that Chuck passed away at age 90.  For me personally, his passing is a massive loss.  The term is used often, but Chuck was an innovator when it came to writing, arranging, and performing music.  Guitarists are still playing his licks, double stops and fills.  RIP, maestro.

Chuck Berry, whose rollicking songs, springy guitar riffs and onstage duck walk defined rock & roll during its early years and for decades to come, died on Saturday. The St. Charles County Police Department confirmed the news on Facebook. Berry was 90 years old.

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"St. Charles County police responded to a medical emergency on Buckner Road at approximately 12:40 p.m. today (Saturday, March 18)," the Facebook post reads. "Inside the home, first responders observed an unresponsive man and immediately administered lifesaving techniques. Unfortunately, the 90-year-old man could not be revived and was pronounced deceased at 1:26 p.m." It went on to confirm that the man was Berry and added that his family was requesting privacy at this time.

While the exact cause of death is currently unknown, Berry's son, Charles Jr., recently told Rolling Stone that he had suffered a bout of pneumonia. "Now what i can say is he's a 90-year-old man," he said. "And like most 90-year-old men, he has good days and he has bad days. In the not too distant past, he had a bout with pneumonia. He's recovering, but it's a much slower process for him to recover."

Starting with his first hit, 1955's "Maybellene," Berry penned a collection of songs that, in both groove and teen-life mindset, became essential parts of the rock canon: "Roll Over, Beethoven," "Rock & Roll Music," and especially "Johnny B. Goode" were witty, zesty odes to the then-new art form — songs so key to the music that they had to be mastered by every fledgling guitarist or band who followed Berry. As teenagers, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger first bonded over their love of Berry's music, and over the last five decades Berry's songs have been covered by an astounding array of artists: from the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, the Doors and the Grateful Dead to James Taylor, Peter Tosh, Judas Priest, Dwight Yoakam, Phish, and Sex Pistols. As Richards said when inducting Berry into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, "I've stolen every lick he ever played."
 

 

By fusing blues and country, Berry also invented a signature guitar style — like "ringing a bell," as he put it in "Johnny G. Goode" — that was imitated by bands from the Stones and the Beach Boys to punk rockers. His lyrics — largely about sex, cars, music and trouble — introduced an entirely new vocabulary into popular music in the Fifties. In his songs, Berry captured America's newfound post-war prosperity — a world, as he sang in "Back in the U.S.A.," where "hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day." ''I made records for people who would buy them," Berry once said. "No color, no ethnic, no political — I don't want that, never did.''

Yet Berry, in his role as rock & roll pioneer, also dealt with racism and bigotry, particularly when he was accused in 1961 of violating the Mann Act (transporting a woman or girl across state lines for purposes of prostitution). Berry claimed he had met Janice Norine Escalanti, a 14-year-old Native American, during a show in Texas and hired her to work at his St. Louis club, Club Bandstand. Imprisoned after a second trial (the first conviction was overturned due to the judge repeatedly using the word "nigra"), Berry, who pleaded not guilty, wound up serving nearly two years in prison and emerged a noticeably changed, bitter man. In recent years, he had mellowed somewhat, thanks in part to receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 1986 and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Born in St. Louis on October 18th, 1926, Charles Edward Anderson Berry learned to play blues guitar as a teenager and first performed at his high school talent show. Music was his first love, but not necessarily his first career choice. The son of a carpenter, Berry worked on a General Motors assembly line and studied to be a hairdresser. With pianist Johnnie Johnson (a regular part of his band for years to come), Berry formed a band in 1952. After meeting blues legend Muddy Waters, Berry was introduced to Chess Records founder Leonard Chess in 1955. Berry brought along a song based on the country tune "Ida Red." With a new title and lyrics — and an immediately grabby, grinding opening guitar lick — the song was transformed into "Maybellene." On a return trip, Berry brought his recording of the song and was immediately signed to the label. "[Chess] couldn’t believe that a country tune (he called it a ‘hillbilly song’) could be written and sung by a black guy," Berry later wrote in his 1987 memoir Chuck Berry: The Autobiography.

"Maybellene" hit Number Five in 1955 and established Berry's career and sound. By the end of the 1950s, he had logged seven more top 40 hits: "Roll Over Beethoven" (Number 29), "School Day" (Number Three), "Rock & Roll Music" (Number Eight), "Sweet Little Sixteen" (Number Two), "Johnny B. Goode" (Number Eight), "Carol" (Number 28) and "Back in the U.S.A." (Number 37). Although he was already in his early thirties by the time he scored those hits, Berry was unabashed about why he wrote for a younger audience. "Whatever would sell was what I thought I should concentrate on," he wrote in his memoir, "so from 'Maybellene' on, I mainly improvised my lyrics toward the young adult and some even for the teeny boppers, as they called the tots then."
 

 

Each song was defined by the Berry trademarks: that blend of propulsive beat, rueful charm, and ringing guitar. "The beautiful thing about Chuck Berry's playing was it had such an effortless swing," Keith Richards wrote in his memoir, Life. "None of this sweating and grinding away or grimacing, just pure, effortless swing like a lion." During a 1956 concert, Berry was so self-conscious about only having brought one suit that he invented a new stage move "to hide the wrinkles," as he told RS in 1969. That move, the duck walk, also became part of the rock & roll lexicon.

Intentionally or not, Berry also set the template for the rock & roll bad boy beyond his Mann Act conviction. Early in his life, Berry spent three years in reform school for an armed robbery attempt. In 1979, he was indicted for tax evasion and filing false income tax returns and spent three months in jail. (At his sentencing, he burst into tears.) In 1990, he was sued by several women who claimed Berry had videotaped them in the ladies' room in his restaurant in St. Louis. (Berry reached an out-of-court settlement.)

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When he was released from a Missouri prison in October 1963 after his Mann Act conviction, Berry was embittered, but he also saw his footprint all over a new generation of bands. The Beach Boys had released their first single, the Berry-influenced "Surfin' Safari," while a new band from England, the Rolling Stones, released Berry's "Come On" as their first single in 1963. At first, Berry picked up where he left off, writing fine new songs like "You Never Can Tell" and "No Particular Place to Go" that held onto his devil-may-care attitude.

In 1966, Berry left Chess, his longtime home, for another label, Mercury, but the result was a series of sub-par albums and weak re-recordings of his hits. (One notable exception: a jam with the Steve Miller Band captured on the 1967 album, Live at the Fillmore Auditorium). In 1969, he returned to Chess — and returned to form — on harder-edged songs like "Tulane," a drug-dealer romp that showed his newfound relevance. In 1972, he scored his first and only Number One pop hit with the novelty song, "My Ding-a-Ling." His last album of original songs, Rock It, was released in 1979.
 

Berry was a notoriously tough and irascible character offstage. On tour, he long traveled alone, using backup bands hired by the promoters. He demanded payment in advance, a specific kind of amplifier and a limousine (with no driver) for his shows. In 1986, Richards assembled an all-star backup band (including Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and sax player Bobby Keys) to play behind Berry in the documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. Even then, Berry intimidated Richards onstage and off and only showed up on the first day of filming after he demanded an extra cash payment of $25,000. Despite those difficulties, the 1987 movie, directed by Taylor Hackford, became one of rock's most acclaimed concert films.

In 2012, while visiting Cleveland to accept the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s American Music Masters Award, the then-86-year-old musician told Rolling Stone that he was slowing down with age. "I am hearing very little," he said. "I’m wondering about my future. That’s news!

"Well, I’ll give you a little piece of poetry," he added, when asked to expand. "Give you a song? I can’t do that. My singing days have passed. My voice is gone. My throat is worn. And my lungs are going fast. I think that explains it."

Up until 2014, Berry continued to perform at clubs and casinos. Once a month, he played at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant and bar in St. Louis, where his October 2014 show marked his 209th consecutive show at the venue, according to Riverfront Times.

Berry lived in St. Louis but often spent time at Berry Park, a 155-acre property in nearby Wentzville, Missouri. (As he told Rolling Stone in 2010, he even still mowed the lawn there.) Asked by RS in 1969 about rock's role, Berry said, "Like any music, it brings you together, because if two people like the same music, they can be standing beside each other shaking and they wind up dancing, and that’s a matter of communication ... so I say it's a means of communication, more so than other music, to the kids." 

He is survived by his wife Themetta "Toddy" Suggs, whom he married in 1948, and four children.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chuck-berry-rock-roll-innovator-dead-at-90

[Bombdirt]

I heard my first Chuck Berry song in "Back to the Future" when I was a kid. Been a fan of his stuff ever since. Amazing guitar player. RIP. 

[Happy Clouds]

Thanks for posting the article, @munchmemory.  I never knew that his signature dance move, known as the "duck walk", was first done as an attempt to hide the wrinkles on his suit. 

A true rock and roll legend. RIP

[munchmemory]

1 hour ago, Happy Clouds said:

Thanks for posting the article, @munchmemory.  I never knew that his signature dance move, known as the "duck walk", was first done as an attempt to hide the wrinkles on his suit. 

A true rock and roll legend. RIP

Yeah, the guy was one of a kind for sure.  Every guitar god from the British invasion--Keith, Clapton, Page, Green, and the rest--absolutely idolized Chuck.  Somewhere on the internet is Clapton explaining how Berry changed everything associated with playing lead guitar.  It was his use of double stops instead of playing single notes which was so revolutionary and just plain rockin' to the ear.  

Found it:

 

[munchmemory]

Great comments from Taylor Hackford, who directed Chuck in the incredible "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll".

Filmmaker Taylor Hackford, who directed Chuck Berry's classic 1987 documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, penned a tribute to Berry following the rock legend's death Saturday.

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"He was the most important figure in rock 'n' roll. Every rock 'n' roll guy starts by playing Chuck Berry songs," Hackford wrote for the Hollywood Reporter.

In the remembrance, Hackford reminisces about the "difficult" shoot for Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll and how Berry would often conspire against his own documentary.

"Chuck was more difficult than any movie star I've ever worked with," Hackford wrote. "More complicated, more difficult, more diabolical. Diabolical is a fitting term. At the same time, I totally loved him."

Hackford reaffirmed the story about how – despite Universal giving Berry $500,000 for the rights to his music in the documentary – the guitarist refused to partake in the first day of shooting unless the producer physically came up with more money, which was delivered to him in a brown bag.

"I love Chuck Berry, but every day was a negotiation. It is not an exaggeration to say he was the most difficult star I have ever known, as complicated and talented as anybody I've ever met. He let me inside his life — up to a point," Hackford added. The director would later helm another film about a music legend, the Ray Charles biopic Ray.

The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson and the Beatles' Ringo Starr were among those to pay tribute to Berry following his death Saturday.

"Chuck Berry defined rock 'n roll guitar, he was a fantastic performer, but more importantly, he was the first great rock 'n roll songwriter," Hackford added. "All of them — the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Prince — they've all said they wouldn't be there without Chuck Berry. And he did it over and over again."

On Sunday, Hackford also remembered Berry in a statement:

"Chuck Berry was the greatest creative force in the birth of Rock & Roll – that’s a fact. That's why we all came together in 1986 to celebrate him in my film, Hail, Hail, Rock & Roll: Keith Richards (Music Director), Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Julian Lennon, Etta James, Robbie Robertson and Bruce Springsteen. But Chuck was complicated - in fact, he was the most difficult 'movie star' I've even worked with. It was like trying to ride a Brahma Bull - you can try to ride him, but he’s going to buck you off. Keith Richards and I soon learned that we would have to 'wing-it,' if we wanted to get anything on screen. But still, I loved Chuck, because he was the ‘real deal, an original genius who created a true American Art Form - why shouldn't he be difficult. Not only did he invent the most famous guitar licks in Rock & Roll history, he could also sing in a totally unique style everything from Blues, to Country to Jazz. (A friend told me that the first time he heard Memphis on the radio, he thought Chuck Berry was a white country singer.) But what made Chuck the greatest of all other 50s Rock & Roll Artists was his talent as a Songwriter – his compositions were miles above anything else written in that decade. Of course, I’m not the first to say that – John Lennon, Jagger & Richards, Bob Dylan all said that they wouldn’t have here without CB. A few years ago Prince told me the same thing. What I'm most happy about is that we were able to capture Chuck when he still had all pistons firing – an auto allusion that's perfect, because no one could write a song about America’s love the automobile better than Chuck – or a song about the sexiness of a 16-year-old girl, or a love song about a Havana Moon." 

 

 

 

 

[peebag]

"I once asked George Thorogood why he didn't write more of his owns songs, and he said, "because Chuck Berry already wrote all the good songs". He wrote the blueprint. Between him and Dylan, that was it".

Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites) (1990)

[rangerous]

chcuck was one of the greatest.  one thing i heard or read about chuck was that he would come to your house and put on a performance for something like $1500.  that was back in the 80's.  the guy was still touring back in 2013 at 87 years old.

[munchmemory]

Just read this and thought I'd share it with fellow fans of Chuck.

Following Chuck Berry's death in March, Keith Richards paid tribute to his musical idol for the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.

Chuck Berry once gave me a black eye, which I later called his greatest hit. We saw him play in New York somewhere, and afterward I was backstage in his dressing room, where his guitar was lying in its case. I wanted to look, out of professional interest, and as I'm just plucking the strings, Chuck walked in and gave me this wallop to the frickin' left eye. But I realized I was in the wrong. If I walked into my dressing room and saw somebody fiddling with my ax, it would be perfectly all right to sock 'em, you know? I just got caught.

He would do things like throw me offstage, too. I always took that as a reverse compliment, sort of as a sign of respect – because otherwise he wouldn't bother with me. 

He was a little prickly, but at the same time there was a very warm guy underneath that he wasn't that willing to display. There were other times between us when we're sitting around and rehearsing, and going, 'Man, you know, between us we got that sh*t down" – and there would be a beautiful, different feeling.

Chuck is the granddaddy of us all. Even if you're a rock guitarist who wouldn't name him as your main influence, your main influence is probably still influenced by Chuck Berry. He is rock & roll in its pure essence. The way he moved, especially in those early film clips; the exuberant ease when he laid down that rhythm was mystifying and something to behold. He used his whole arm to play. He used the shoulder and elbows. Most of us just use our wrists; I'm still working on the shoulder bit. Chuck was not one of those guitar players grimacing at every note he played, which is so common among us all. Chuck's smiling as he's playing that sh*t.

But his songwriting, man. I mean, who can come up with "Too Much Monkey Business"? "Jo Jo Gunne," "School Days," "Back in the U.S.A."? And "Memphis, Tennessee" is untouchable. It's got a beauty all its own, an intriguing tenderness. There's a sort of reality in the plea of it – a great, poignant story – and such a beautiful chord sequence, beautifully played. The drums are a wonder. It's one of those moments you only catch now and again on record, and he caught it. It's all there in two-and-a-half minutes.

As a budding rock & roll guitar player, his music blasted you into another stratosphere. There is sort of a golden period for Chuck's music. When he was at Chess, he was playing in the best studio, with the right players, with Willie Dixon behind him. I always come back to the word "exuberant" when I listen to those records. It was stunning all around – the production, the sound, the sheer energy of them. After that, he always seemed to me to be sort of searching. And doing time didn't help. He came out a different man.

He was incredibly versatile in his music. He would play everything. He was picking up guitar from the jazz guys – Charlie Christian, and definitely T-Bone Walker with that double-string work – and he was very much aware of songwriters of the standards. He was a real fan of the Nat King Cole Trio. I think he listened to everything, because he was just as adept at country music, too. His music is an incredible mixture of America. There's Spanish in there, bayou stuff, and swamp. 

 

When the Stones were playing clubs, it was basically Chuck and the blues – which, to me, is not that different! We loved to play "Around and Around." Chuck's music is interesting to play because it's not as simple as it looks – and it's also a matter of how interesting you can make it. The swing beat he used gave a different flavor. That's the meaning of the roll in rock & roll: It bounced. 

In 1986, when we made Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, I moved into his house in Berry Park for weeks. It was a childhood dream come true – I'm living at Chuck Berry's house, putting a band together with him! Steve Jordan, Chuck Leavell and [NRBQ's] Joey Spampinato were there too, and every day was an adventure. One night I woke up and found him outside the door with this enormous machine, shampooing the rug at three in the morning: "It's gotta get done!"

The scene with "Carol" in the movie was a little bit of game-playing on his part. He was ******* with me. He was correcting me, but it can be slightly different every time. I thought, "Well, I'll just show how stoic I can be under these sorts of occasions and do it." 

When I got the call that he was gone, it wasn't a total, unexpected shock, but I kind of got the strange feeling that I remembered when Buddy Holly died. I was in school, and this whisper started to go around the classroom. The whole class gave this collective gasp of horror. This was that same blow to the gut. It hit me harder than I expected. But Chuck certainly hung in there. There's another thing I hope to emulate.

As told to Patrick Doyle

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/keith-richards-on-chuck-berry-the-granddaddy-of-us-all-w474753

[Jetsfan80]

Really amazing that Johnny B. Goode was released in 1958.  Maybe the first great guitar song in rock history and it preceded the creation of the Beatles by 2 years and the Stones by 4.

RIP Chuck.  

[munchmemory]

17 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Really amazing that Johnny B. Goode was released in 1958.  Maybe the first great guitar song in rock history and it preceded the creation of the Beatles by 2 years and the Stones by 4.

RIP Chuck.  

Now, wrap your head around the fact that "Maybellene" was released in 1955 and "Roll Over Beethoven" in 1956.   I believe that rock & roll had two great eras: 1956-58 and 1965-72.  The first was because of Chuck's new spin on R&B/blues which was to be called rock & roll.  The other was mostly attributed to the British Invasion, which was driven by British musicians who put their spin on Chuck's invention.