Chuck Berry: The Fountainhead of 20th Century Rock by Peter Reum
Chuck Berry died today. His 90 years were lived on his terms. Almost any form of rock and roll, and later, rock music, owes a debt to him. Most rock groups, including such behemoths as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones absorbed his music, and in a few cases directly, retitled it and said it was their own.
Mr. Berry absorbed all of the ugly drama of Jim Crow, responding to the pain with quiet dignity. His response to this most horrible experience was to fight it with a subtlety that undercut segregation. Chuck Berry tunes brought White kids to listen to African-American music that helped many kids of all races and ethnicities to be more at ease with people from other races.
Songs like Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Promised Land, and others became the story of pride of being African-American and dignified over against White prejudice. As a child, Chuck Berry had been told to sit in the segregated theater balcony of the most beautiful theater in St. Louis, with the White kids sitting in the best seats on the main floor. He then reflected that he was asked to play a concert 50 years later in the same theater as an integrated show. He shook his head with a grimace, but also with a look of irony and a half smile.
Chuck Berry, like many African-Americans, was deeply scarred by his experiences with segregation. It led to some time in prison right when rock and roll became Whiter. He saw that white men with similar convictions were being given probation without setting foot in prison. He traveled to gigs himself, without anyone else, with his electric guitar and perhaps a change of clothes. His list of demands in his standard contract specified that he must be paid in cash before he played a note. If things didn't look right to him, he would hop back in his rental car, and drive back to the airport post haste.
He did not pay a band to travel and play behind him. The concert promoter was responsible for that. If the band couldn't keep up, he would tell them to leave. He and his guitar would finish the show. He had an amusement park for a few years, and had detailed plans for it. For reasons that are often contradictory, the plans never got done.
As a family man, he was quietly protective. He adored his wife and treated her as a partner. They celebrated their 68th anniversary a few days before his death. There is so much to celebrate in Chuck Berry's life. His catalog of songs is the gold standard of rock. His influence on other artists is unmatched. If Rock Music could be seen as a massive tree, Chuck Berry would be the roots.
Hail Hail Rock and Roll......Hail Hail Chuck Berry!
The reader is suggested to find The Great 28, a compilation of his hits.
For hard core Berry fans, Bear Family Records has a boxed set which includes his entire recorded output. I have it and love it!
Copyright 2017 by Peter Reum - All rights reserved
Chuck Berry died today. His 90 years were lived on his terms. Almost any form of rock and roll, and later, rock music, owes a debt to him. Most rock groups, including such behemoths as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones absorbed his music, and in a few cases directly, retitled it and said it was their own.
Mr. Berry absorbed all of the ugly drama of Jim Crow, responding to the pain with quiet dignity. His response to this most horrible experience was to fight it with a subtlety that undercut segregation. Chuck Berry tunes brought White kids to listen to African-American music that helped many kids of all races and ethnicities to be more at ease with people from other races.
Songs like Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Promised Land, and others became the story of pride of being African-American and dignified over against White prejudice. As a child, Chuck Berry had been told to sit in the segregated theater balcony of the most beautiful theater in St. Louis, with the White kids sitting in the best seats on the main floor. He then reflected that he was asked to play a concert 50 years later in the same theater as an integrated show. He shook his head with a grimace, but also with a look of irony and a half smile.
Chuck Berry, like many African-Americans, was deeply scarred by his experiences with segregation. It led to some time in prison right when rock and roll became Whiter. He saw that white men with similar convictions were being given probation without setting foot in prison. He traveled to gigs himself, without anyone else, with his electric guitar and perhaps a change of clothes. His list of demands in his standard contract specified that he must be paid in cash before he played a note. If things didn't look right to him, he would hop back in his rental car, and drive back to the airport post haste.
He did not pay a band to travel and play behind him. The concert promoter was responsible for that. If the band couldn't keep up, he would tell them to leave. He and his guitar would finish the show. He had an amusement park for a few years, and had detailed plans for it. For reasons that are often contradictory, the plans never got done.
As a family man, he was quietly protective. He adored his wife and treated her as a partner. They celebrated their 68th anniversary a few days before his death. There is so much to celebrate in Chuck Berry's life. His catalog of songs is the gold standard of rock. His influence on other artists is unmatched. If Rock Music could be seen as a massive tree, Chuck Berry would be the roots.
Hail Hail Rock and Roll......Hail Hail Chuck Berry!
The reader is suggested to find The Great 28, a compilation of his hits.
For hard core Berry fans, Bear Family Records has a boxed set which includes his entire recorded output. I have it and love it!
Copyright 2017 by Peter Reum - All rights reserved
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