Beach Boys rocked Chuck
QUESTION Did Chuck Berry write The Beach Boys’ hit Surfin’ USA?
Chuck Berry was one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest innovators. he began recording his own brand of the genre with Maybellene in 1955. In 1958, Chuck’s Sweet Little Sixteen/reelin’ And rockin’ was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Two years later, the British Invasion was under way, courtesy of Gerry And The Pacemakers, The Beatles and The Dave Clark Five followed by the rolling Stones. America countered in the form of The Beach Boys and their first hit, Surfin’ USA in 1963. It was obvious the tune had been borrowed from Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen and it was a surprise that no credit was given on the original label.
Chuck was not in a position to defend his copyright since he was incarcerated in a Louisiana prison cell, where he was serving a sentence for a contravention of the Mann Act, the so-called white slavery laws (in his case, carrying an unauthorised passenger, a 14-year-old girl, across state lines for allegedly ‘immoral purposes’).
Some people believe that an inept legal counsel, the judge’s racism and the all-white jury did not help his case, and he was sentenced to three years in jail.
In 1963, the upsurge of rock ’n’ roll’s roots and subsequent interest in Chuck’s whereabouts brought about a rapid release, and he resumed his career. Meanwhile, his publishing company ArC Music sued The Beach Boys for copyright infringement.
Beach Boy Brian Wilson defended himself, claiming Surfin’ uSA was a homage to Berry’s music. With the threat of lawsuits looming, Beach Boys manager Murry Wilson, the father of Brian, agreed to give the publishing rights to Chuck’s publisher. From 1966, all subsequent issues carry Chuck Berry’s credit.
Tex Waite, Trowbridge, Wilts.
QUESTION Was lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum) used to stuff mattresses?
The frothy flowers of (Our) Lady’s Bedstraw carpet the grass with yellow from June to September. When dried, it has the scent of new-mown hay and its name is thought to be derived from the tradition of stuffing straw mattresses with it, particularly those of women about to give birth.
The herb is also known as Cheese rennet, as it contains an enzyme that breaks down milk protein to form curds. According to the 16th- century english herbalist John Gerard: ‘ The people of Thuscane do use it to turne their milks and the cheese, which they make of sheepes and goates milke, might be the sweeter and more pleasant to taste.
‘ The people in Cheshire, especially about Nantwich, where the best cheese is made, do use it in their rennet, esteeming greatly of that cheese above other made without it.’ Cheshire cheese was made with bedstraw rennet up until the 19th century.
The herb is also known as Maid’s hair for, in henry VIII’s reign, ‘ maydens did wear silken callis to keep in order their hayre made yellow with dye’. It has also been known as Petty Mugget, from the French petit muguet, a little dandy.
Olivia Quentin, Aylesbury, Wilts.
QUESTION Who first claimed that ‘the lunatics are running the asylum’?
IN The earliest days of cinema, neither the actors’ nor directors’ names were displayed or advertised. That anonymity gradually gave way to the star system, but there was still a feeling that actors and directors were just staff.
In 1918, three great stars of the silver screen, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, joined forces with director D. W. Griffith and founded their own production company, united Artists. When the news reached studio executive and film producer richard A. rowland ( 1880- 1947), his famous reaction was: ‘The lunatics have taken over the asylum.’
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rowland was the head of Metro Pictures Corporation from 1915 to 1920, a studio he founded with Louis B. Mayer.
In 1920, rowland sold Metro to Marcus Loew and moved to the Fox Film Corporation. Loew later merged Metro with the recently acquired Goldwyn Pictures Corporation in order to form Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). MGM eventually bought united Artists. Mrs I. N. Penny, Hull.
QUESTION In Victorian times, the London Underground trains were lit by gas lamps. How was the gas stored on trains?
Further to the earlier response, the main reason that the gas lighting of railway carriages lasted well into the early part of the 20th century was the regular and stable nature of the illumination provided by the gas mantle. electric lighting was available in the later Victorian years, but, apart from the expense of its installation, there was no easily achieved regulation of the voltage generated by the train’s motion.
Vibration dictated that robust, heavyduty, low-voltage filament lamps be used, and the light emitted from these was directly proportionate to the voltage applied. When the train was stationary, a battery could be used to maintain the illumination, but there was still the matter of the floating voltage of the battery to contend with — this gave a flickering light as the battery went from providing the current to being charged up.
Many sophisticated arrangements were tried, including using two batteries and swapping them over when the train stopped/ reversed — reversing the dynamo also reversed the voltage applied to the battery.
It was the mid-20th century before reliable systems were installed on general purpose stock. With modern electronic control, problems have been virtually eliminated.
C. E. Sayers-Leavy, Broadstairs, Kent.
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