Chuck Berry, 90, a rock & roll original
Should there be living life forms in other parts of the galaxy, there is a strong chance that they have already heard and probably enjoyed the music of Chuck Berry. His song, Johnny B. Goode, was among those sent off to space with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts launched in 1977. The package was addressed to whoever will find it anywhere and attached with titanium bolts to the side of the rocket ship.
Among the items in the package was a phonograph record made of copper and sprayed with gold. It contained greetings from the people of Earth in assorted languages with photographs of Earth and its people. Also included was music like recordings of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach and Johnny B. Goode by Berry.
I do not know if anybody from outer space has already heard that recording but I am sure that almost everybody on Earth has already heard Johnny B. Goode. The song from 1958 probably has the most famous intro in pop music history, as wellknown or even better known than that to Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Fifth.
That it is that infectious is not a surprise at all because that bit of guitar wizardry came from Berry. In fact, ask any rock and roller worth his salt and he will say that the only master he bows down to is Chuck Berry. And those who would include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Eric Clapton, etc. etc.
Berry was born Charles Edward Anderson Berry on Oct. 18, 1926 in a street named Goode Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. Berry studied to be a hairdresser and beautician but he grew up with a natural talent for writing songs and playing the guitar. His big break came when he met the esteemed blues artist Muddy Waters, who gladly helped Berry get a recording contract with Chess Records.
Berry wanted to be another Waters. He also loved country music and the blues. Nothing bad about that and it might have happened if Chess had not heard what Berry did with country, the blues and his guitar. His combination of these three never failed to get listeners off their seats for a great time on the dance floor. Chess loved the sound and decided that Berry’s first single would be his composition, Maybellene.
Maybellene in 1955 was Berry’s first big hit. He followed it up with other rock and roll tunes several of which also showed off his endearing affinity with defiant, rebel rousing teenagers and their liking for fast cars and fast songs. Within the next few years there were School Day, Rock and Roll Music, Sweet Little Sixteen, My Ding-a-Ling, Roll Over Beethoven, Nadine, Brown-eyed Handsome Man and You Can’t Catch Me.
Others that followed were Come On, Carol, Beautiful Delilah, Almost Grown, Promised Land, Memphis Tennessee, No Particular Place To Go, Run Rudolph Run, Too Much Monkey Business, Round and Round, Little Queenie, Back In The U.S.A., Tulane, San Francisco Dues, You Never Can Tell, Let It Rock and others.
I do not know who came up with a name rock and roll for the sound, but it is a fact that Berry was among the first to lay down the music’s initial tracks. Some of the others who also did at around the same time were Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles. Berry though was the first one to have a hit song in Maybellene.
Berry’s life was marred by brushes with the law from the time when he was a teenager. This resulted in his spending time in jail for various offenses from car theft to armed robbery to transporting a minor across state lines for sex purposes to tax evasion. There were plenty of times when Berry was washed up and broke. These caused him to be bitter about his life but he continued performing up to three years ago.
Chuck Berry died last Saturday, March 18 in his Missouri home. He is survived by his wife Themetta Suggs and their children, Ingrid Berry, Melody Eskridge, Aloha Ida Leigh Berry and Charles Berry Jr.
He is also survived by his music which is among the most influential and most irresistible ever heard. Thank you, Chuck Berry for the great sounds and the duck walk.
And you have not yet heard the end of them. Last October 2016, when he celebrated his 90th birthday, Berry announced that he would be releasing a new album titled Chuck this year. Fans are now wondering what the album contains and if it will be released soon.