Duck-walking in his shoes
Musicians, critics remember the genius of rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Berry.
ON Saturday, the music world reeled upon the loss of Chuck Berry, the ingenious writer and guitar hero whose work laid the foundation of rock ‘n’ roll. The musician was 90 years old.
In the wake of his passing, fellow musicians and critics shared history and memories, explaining what made the musician so unparalleled.
“Chuck Berry made the guitar a star,” his friend Joe Edwards, the owner of St. Louis’ Blueberry Hill music club, told The Telegraph. “He took it from a rhythm, background instrument, and he intuitively choreographed the first great rock ‘n’ roll stage moves... whether it was playing it behind his head, between his legs, or of course, the inimitable duck walk.”
“What a genius. What a man, what a creative person,” Edwards continued.
Berry played at Blueberry Hill hundreds of times. But before that, his music and moves made him an undeniable worldwide star starting with 1955’s Maybellene, and set a generation of musicians on fire – including the British Invasion bands who couldn’t stop playing his music.
“The 1st song that @thebeatles performed at their 1st US concert was Roll Over Beethoven,” the Twitter page for the late George Harrison reminded on Saturday.
In another tweet, Ringo Starr called him “Mr. Rock ‘n’ roll music.”
Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger shared a photo of himself with Berry and a deep appreciation.
“I am so sad to hear of Chuck Berry’s passing. I want to thank him for all the inspirational music he gave to us. He lit up our teenage years, and blew life into our dreams of being musicians and performers,” he wrote in a series of tweets. “His lyrics shone above others & threw a strange light on the American dream. Chuck you were amazing & your music is engraved inside us forever.”
“One of my big lights has gone out,” Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards added.
And Berry’s influence never stopped – not for the musicians who followed, or the listeners who continued to discover his songs.
“Rock ‘n’ roll was born when savvy adults began writing closely observed lyrics about teen obsessions... celebrating adolescence as a unique way of understanding the world,” Keith Harris wrote in City Pages. “Nobody figured out how to pull that trick off as fast as Chuck Berry.”
“Chuck Berry was rock’s greatest practitioner, guitarist, and the greatest pure rock ‘n’ roll writer who ever lived,” Bruce Springsteen tweeted. “This is a tremendous loss of a giant for the ages.”
“RIP King of Rock and Roll,” hiphop great Chuck D tweeted. “On Behalf of @PublicEnemyFTP and @ prophetsofrage it was fitting for me to salute with this Art.”
Producer and Chic mastermind Nile Rodgers called him “A true legend.”
In 1977, some of Berry’s music – Johnny B. Goode – became a messenger for all of humanity, as it took its place on the Golden Record sent off with the Voyager spacecraft along with selections from Western classical music and compositions from around the world. The collection was envisioned as a sort of message in a bottle, thrown into space for possible extraterrestrials.
The 1980s were a time of Berry revival: the film Back To The Future included a clever wink, as a time-travelling Michael J. Fox brought Johnny B. Goode to a 1950s dance. The 1982 compilation The Great Twenty-Eight offered his greatest hits on a new format, the CD. The release is “the place to start listening to Chuck Berry,” AllMusic’s Bruce Eder wrote.
It was an era that made a mark on many.
“Remembering my mother explaining Chuck Berry after seeing Back To The Future when I was 7 & getting Great 28 on tape almost immediately,” the writer Jesse Jarnow wrote. “I already dug the Beatles, but learning about Chuck Berry was learning that rock was a long continuum & that he’d been here for ALL of it.”
Last October, as Berry turned 90, he announced a new album – a release that would be his first collection of new material in decades.
The album, Chuck, was announced with only a release date of “2017” on Dualtone Records.
The material was recorded around St. Louis, according to a press release, and included playing from his longtime backing band as well as children Charles Berry Jr. and Ingrid Berry.
“This record is dedicated to my beloved Toddy,” Berry said in the release, naming his wife, Thermetta Berry. The two were married for almost 70 years. “My darlin’ I’m growing old! I’ve worked on this record for a long time. Now I can hang up my shoes!” – The Oregonian/Tribune News Service