This windfall reinvigorated his career, and replenished his royalty check account. Now hailed as a hero by the biggest and most influential musicians on the planet at the time, he resumed his hitmaker status in 1964, scoring with "Nadine", "No Particular Place To Go", and "You Never Can Tell" He toured England to wildly enthusiastic crowds. While his stint in jail had robbed him of his exuberance to a degree, his showmanship and songwriting abilities were still intact. At least, for a while.

By 1965, rock 'n' roll had begun its transformation into rock, and tastes were becoming more sophisticated. The basic joys of Berry's music began to look passe, after his second wind. Berry, having regained the spotlight against all odds, was reluctant to let it go again. As times changed, he kept up, remaining a showman even as his records became half-hearted affairs. He found a sympathetic audience among the West Coast hippies, becoming a fixture at the Fillmore and festival scene. He left Chess for Mercury records, but his material for them was weak; his star was again fading when he returned to Chess and released a knock-off live recording of a vulgar singalong "My Ding-A-Ling", which ironically became his only #1 Billboard hit of his career, going gold.

Once again he went through a period of rediscovery; this time playing every invitation he got, from TV to festivals to oldies reviews, anything. However, by the mid-70's he was again on the outs; his records, which were often lame attempts at sounding "contemporary" failed to chart, even on the Black charts. He was as out of touch with rock as a man could be at this point, having nothing in common with any of the major 70's trends, from prog-rock to punk. But he kept playing shows, paying the bills.

Unfortunately for Berry, he didn't pay his income tax; in 1979 he returned to prison on income tax evasion charges shortly after what would prove to be his very last album ever, the actually not-bad Rock It, featuring long-time collaborator Johnnie Johnson.

Following his release, Berry was a shadow of his former self. He still played shows, but started getting the reputation of being erratic, sloppy, unfocused, and often tardy. He was a charter inductee into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, but no longer showed any interest in recording again. He published a rather tawdry autobiography in 1987, and was given a 60th birthday salute by Keith Richards which became the successful rockumentary, Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, which gave him a last moment in the spotlight. But his private exploits had become fodder for groupie tell-alls, and his image was tarnished.

It's a sad fade for a man who meant so much to so many for so long; Berry's musical legacy, however, is tarnished not a whit. While it's hard to look at footage of the younger Berry (who was already 30 by the time he broke) and not feel a pang of regret for how his life turned out, it is also hard not to be riveted by the master showman, and the earth altering notes he played, even 50 years later. Long after Berry is gone, and Keith Richards, and all of us, people will still point to Chuck Berry and say, "That's where rock 'n' roll begins"

Article Author: uao

uao isn't my real name.

Visit uao's author page — uao's Blog