Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

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Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby radiofan » Sat Mar 18, 2017 3:59 pm

Rock and roll legend Chuck Berry has died aged 90, police in Missouri report.

Image

The singer was found unresponsive at lunchtime on Saturday, St Charles County police said.

Berry's seven-decade career boasted a string of hits, including classics Roll Over Beethoven and Johnny B. Goode.

He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1984 and was among the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

In a statement on Facebook, the St Charles County Police Department said they were called to reports of an unresponsive man at 12:40 local time (17:40 GMT).

"Unfortunately, the 90-year-old man could not be revived and was pronounced deceased at 1:26pm," the statement continued.

"The St. Charles County Police Department sadly confirms the death of Charles Edward Anderson Berry Sr., better known as legendary musician Chuck Berry."

Berry was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1926, and had his first hit Maybellene in 1955.

Last year, he announced he would be releasing his first album in nearly four decades. He dedicated it to his wife of 68 years, Themetta "Toddy".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39318602
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby jon » Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:39 pm

Earle Bailey spent his show today on Sirius/XM Deep Tracks doing a tribute to Chuck Berry. Mostly great cover versions, but also some interviews and original songs from Chuck himself.

Which prompts me to ask if you would like to respond to this thread with your personal favourite Chuck Berry song.

Not sure if I can get it down to just one, but that list of possibles certainly includes the late Robert O. Smith's favourite, and he was a huge Chuck Berry fan: "Brown Eyed Handsome Man".

I had never even heard of, let alone heard, the song before Robert O. mentioned it as his favourite in a conversation we had around the turn of the century. So, I'm even more surprised to read how many cover versions there have been over the years, with this certainly the most interesting to learn about:
The song was also performed by the so-called "Million Dollar Quartet": Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley in a jam session on December 4, 1956.
(Wikipedia)
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby Rocky » Mon Mar 20, 2017 5:16 pm

I liked a lot of Chuck Berry's music. No Particular Place To Go would be my fave.

My late grandfather who loved novelty songs declared My Ding A Ling as his all time favorite.
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby RationalKeith » Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:44 am

An evil genius, like Phil Spector.

My memory is that Red Robinson had a story to tell about his concert promotion days.
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby RationalKeith » Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:53 am

Local guys played for Berry on a tour:
http://www.goliath.com/auto/10-reasons- ... taken-off/
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby RationalKeith » Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:55 am

Here's a generally good article that suggests a pianist should get some of the credit for Berry's songs, and for giving him his start.
http://www.timescolonist.com/rock-n-rol ... 1.12195046
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby jon » Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:25 pm

Here is a better explanation of the legal battle than the one in the referenced article:
In November 2000, Berry faced legal issues when he was sued by his former pianist Johnnie Johnson, who claimed that he co-wrote over 50 songs, including "No Particular Place to Go", "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven", that credit Berry alone. The case was dismissed when the judge ruled that too much time had passed since the songs were written
(Wikipedia)
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:45 pm

Chuck was handful at times.
Fees for his concerts varied wildly; may be ten grand for a show in one town and thirty a few nights later next stop down the road.
Local musicians were always hired to back up and, depending on his mood, could be treated well, badly, or more often, pretty much ignored. In Seattle, he famously pulled the jack out of the amp of a local bass player with whom, for some reason, he was displeased and told him to sit out the last song in the show. That was the bass player for Heart and he still winces when telling the tale.
Chuck traveled only with his guitar and sometimes even that was supplied as per the contract riders, which always carried one absolute proviso: Two unaltered Fender Showman Reverb amplifiers on stage and ready, otherwise, a two-thousand dollar penalty fee.
"You don't know man! I was in radio man! I've seen things you wouldn't believe!"
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Re: Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry dies

Postby jon » Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:59 pm

From a couple of reliable sources, it sounds like Chuck Berry's way of working with a backup band was the same for many, if not all, of his years on the road. The Promoter was responsible for finding a local backup band in each City and the deal was that Chuck decided if they got paid or not, based on their performance.

The lack of rapport between Chuck and his backup band is supported by the interview I heard with The Young Rascals, I think it was. Just before their first hit record, they heard that Chuck was coming to town for a concert, so found the Promoter of the show and asked for the gig, which paid a lot less than they normally got. Chuck never said anything to them for the whole concert. After, he said "Pay 'em" to the Promoter. Which the Young Rascals took as Praise from their Idol.
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