This plants Chuck and his cherry red ES-335 Gibson right in the middle of ground zero once again. After inspiring rockers of all stripes in the second half of the 50's, providing inspiration for the British Intrusion, fuel for zit faced, hormonally challenged teen age garage bands of the 60's (Shadows Of
Knight, MC5, Standells, etc.) and moving into the Punk Rock explosion of the 70's (The Germs, Dolls, Bowie, Heartbreakers, Tom Petty, T.Rex and so many others), the ubiquitous Chuck Berry is still being recycled and covered well into the new millenium with no signs of it letting up. Maybe the bands playing his riffs these days don't even realize it in some cases since, they are picking up on it through bands that were influenced by bands that were influenced by bands that have been directly inspired by the Maestro himself. As long as there is R N R still being played, Chuck's music will never die.
Viva Viva Rock N Roll.
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Article comments
1 - D*J* B
"Go,Johnny,Go!!! Good post.Nice to know
that Chuck's not forgotten.You should've
mentioned that his song "Johnny B Goode"
was taken up into Outer Space in 1977 on
spaceship "Voyager" by astronauts from
N.A.S.A. It was one of the only "Rock N
Roll tunes included on the time capsule
playlist.If I remenber correctly,I think
the list was at least partially compiled
by Dr. Carl Sagan.
2 - crooked spine
What, no Beach Boys?
3 - HW Saxton
Crooked Spine,Thanx fer reading this man
it's much appreciated. Honestly, I had
both "Surfin' U.S.A." & "Fun, Fun, Fun"
both down on the list but nixed 'em in
the final re-write of this."Surfin USA"
is a rewrite of "Sweet Little Sixteen"
of course and the whole concept of the
good looking babe in a hot rod driving
(pun intended)the boys crazy seems to
be at the least,inspired by Chuck Berry.
I had several more songs that were to be
included on the list here but since many
were by artists already noted I've filed
them for inclusion on a part two of the
above list.Have you got any suggestions?
Again, Thanks for reading this.
for
4 - Keith Fontaine
Much of Chuck Berry's '50's stuff has been overlooked. Songs like 'Wee Wee Hours'...'Blue Feeling'...'Havana Moon', or 'Rockin' at The Philharmonic' just to name a few. I played these years ago when I lived 'down under' and the usual response I got from someone who heard these tunes for the first time was..."who the hell is that?" Many of my friends were amazed that Chuck Berry put out such a fine body of work in this style. His blues was impecable, always haunted by the piano style of Johnnie Johnson. Chuck Berry was also much at home doing fine numbers like 'Rockin' At The Philharmonic' combining blues licks with a big band flavour! If you can hear the 50's originals of these, do so! The re-makes (if there are any of these songs) would NOT do them justice, I am sure. Forget what they call "commercially viable" today.
Pop these tunes on your turntable for an unforgetable experience.
5 - Al Barger
Not to belabor the obvious, but don't forget the Beatles "Back in the USSR"
6 - GerryO
Went Bo Diddley collecting crazy last year and read your blog in the KL airport a few weeks ago. It helped me sort out the fact that I hadn't previously seen/heard the song "Hey Good Lookin" and so I now own another Bo Diddley collection cd and "Hey Good Lookin".
Thanks, Gerry
7 - dsga
I can't find how Chuck Berry died.
8 - HW Saxxxton
Dearest DSGA,
To the best of my knowledge Chuck is still alive
and kicking,playing the(very)occasional live gig.
He's a reclusive,cranky old guy.But after all he's
been through it's understandable and forgivable.
9 - Ventor
"...and keeping Chuck's name alive even if it was for a crowd of 20,000+ stoned out headbangers."
So what youre saying is that we metalheads dont have the taste for music? "Even if it was for a bunch of metalheads .." ... And why stoned out? Just cause you have long hair and you're drunk doesnt mean you dont appreciate good old music. I love rock'n'roll ... [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]
10 - louise halama
If the writer wasn't so nauseating it might be worth it to read his article.
11 - huck l berry
Louise, do you know this writer? Curious as to the reason for a personal attack. I know him as I played in a blues band with him in chicago in 2005/6. He is a pretty damned good guitar player and musicologist with few peers as to his knowledge of rock n roll music. He's a bit arrogant and also a bit of a womanizer but arent most blues musicians worth their weight???