RickenbackerBassPlayer

I said I would have this up earlier and forgot about it, sorry hope you all like it.

Artist: Chuck Berry (Charles Edward Anderson Berry)
Genre: Rock and Roll
Active years: 1955-present time

Chuck Berry is an American guitarist/singer. He was considered one of the first people to start rock and roll music. He has had many honors like being one of the first to be put into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis Missouri, and was the third child in a family of six. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1944 and he went to jail to be released 3 years later.

In 1948 he married Themetta Suggs. He started working many jobs in St. Louis like being a janitor and doing work in a factory. Chuck started being looked at in several bands in St. Louis. He looked at it as extra income. He played mostly blues in his teens and played guitar riffs and grandstanding.

Chuck Berry began playing with the Johnnie Johnson Trio band that played in clubs, 1953. They played ballad and blues, but the big type of music in the area at the time was country. He also began singing the songs of Nat "King" Cole and Muddy Waters. "Listening to Nat Cole prompted me to sing sentimental songs with distinct diction," he said at Blueberry Hill.

Chuck Berry met Waters in Chicago 1955. Waters suggested that he called Leonard Chess, owner of chess records. Berry felt confident about showing his blues material to Chess. But another track, a different track, grabbed his attention. It was a western country track titled “Ida Red” by Bob Wills. Chess noticed the blues genre slowing down. He wanted to look for something else. Chess thought that Chuck Berry could be that “someone else”. So, in 1955 Berry tagged up with Johnny Johnson, Jerome Green, Jasper Thomas, and Willie Dixon. They covered “Ida Red” and re-named it “Maybellene”. It was on the top billboards rhythm and blues charts.

In 1956 his song “Roll over Beethoven” went to #29 on the billboards. Chuck was actually in the top acts of 56. He later met Carl Perkins. Perkins said that "I knew when I first heard Chuck that he'd been affected by country music. I respected his writing; his records were very, very great.” Later while touring Perkins figured out that Berry didn’t only like country, but many other songs as well. Chuck tagged up with rising rock stars in 1957 like Buddy Holly, and Everly Brothers. Through 1957 to 1959 Berry kept releasing number one hits. Some included: “School Days”, “Rock and Roll music”, “Sweet Little Sixteen”, and “Johnny B. Goode”. Later, Chuck Berry was in a couple rock films. The first one, “Rock Rock Rock” in 1956, and the second “Go, Johnny Go!” in 1959.

1959, Berry spent more jail time. He invited a young fourteen-year old girl to come to his club for a job. The girl was pressed with prostitution charges, and Berry with the Mann Act. He was fined $5,000, and found guilty. He then went to prison for five years.

Berry five years later was released in 1963. He was quite happy that other people, the Beatles and other bands, were covering his songs. 1964-65 Berry released six singles including hits: “You can never tell” and “Nadine”.
But in 66 Chuck left Chess Records to go to Mercury. He recorded several albums while with Mercury. He re-recorded a few of the Chess Records songs and the hits were never the same and had “dried up”. He still worked hard though. He had a appearance at the 1969 Rock n’ Roll Revival with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and other greats. Remember how I said he had a dry time at Mercury? Well, he left after a hitless four years. So he returned to Chess.

A lot of people know Chuck Berry’s “My ding-a-ling”. Well when he released that with Chess it was 1972 and it was recorded years before he joined Mercury. When Chuck went on a tour with only his Gibson guitar, he was confident that he could find a band every single place he went that already knew his music. Un-luckily for him he had sloppy, out of tune performances. In 1977 he also made a live performance on Saturday Night Live playing, “Johnny B. Goode” “Memphis” “Tennessee” and “Carol”. Later a few well known musicians today were back up for Berry back then like Steve Miller and Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen was in the Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame concert with Chuck too.

Chuck Berry did time in jail for four more months in 1979. He did a lot of benefit shows like playing at the White House on June 1st. In 1979, Berry released Rockit for Atco Records, his last album as of now.

Continuing with his career, Berry played around 80 one-nighters in the 80’s. Taylor Hackford made a documentary video titled, “Hail! Hail! Rock n’ Roll” for Chuck on his sixtieth birthday. Keith Richards as the musical leader. Eric Clapton, Etta James, Julian Lennon, Robert Cray and Linda Ronstadt, among others, were on the film too. One of the good parts in the film was a discussion with Richards and Berry on how to set an amplifier for a guitar.

Late 1980’s Berry owned a restaurant In Missouri called The Southern Air. He had a estate too. He called it “Berry Park”. He hosted a lot of rock concerts there. It was shut down due to guests. He was also sued twice. First time by women claiming that he had put cameras in the women’s washrooms. Second by a former Pianist Johnnie Johnson claiming to have co-wrote over 50 songs of Berry’s.

Still Chuck Berry plays live at the Blueberry Hill in St. Louis one Wednesday of each month.

Studio Albums:
Rock, Rock, Rock (with The Moonglows and The Flamingos) (1956)
After School Session (1957)
One Dozen Berrys (1958)
Chuck Berry Is on Top (1959)
Rockin' at the Hops (1960)
New Juke-Box Hits (1961)
Chuck Berry Twist (1962)
More Chuck Berry (1963)
Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits (1964)
Two Great Guitars (with Bo Diddley) (1964)
St. Louis to Liverpool (1964)
Chuck Berry in London (1965)
Fresh Berry's (1965)
Chuck Berry's Golden Hits (1967) - re-recordings
Chuck Berry in Memphis (1967)
From St. Louie to Frisco (1968)
Concerto In B. Goode (1969)
Back Home (1970)
San Francisco Dues (1971)
The London Chuck Berry Sessions (1972) (Side 1)
Bio (1973)
Sweet Little Rock and Roller (1973)
Wild Berrys (1974)
Flashback (1974)
Chuck Berry (1975)
Rock It (1979)
Alive and Rockin' (1981)
"Retro Rock" - Chuck Berry - Broadcast Week (1982)
Chuck Berry (1982)

Live Albums:
Chuck Berry on Stage (1963) (Actually studio recordings with overdubbed M.C. and audience.)
Live at the Fillmore Auditorium (1967) (bonus tracks included on 1994 re-release)
The London Chuck Berry Sessions (1972) (Side 2)
Chuck Berry Live in Concert (1978)
Chuck Berry Live (1981)
Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969 Vol. II (1982)
Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969 Vol. III (1982)
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
Live! (2000)
Live on Stage (2000)
Chuck Berry - In Concert (2002)



Thanks for reading.

__________________
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." - Ludwig Van Beethoven

 

Baphomet

Really?? Wow... I love Chuck but never knew how long he had really been makin music!!

__________________
We walk without eyes, chained to these.
We stand pseudo life, slaves to machines.

http://www.myspace.com/prosedescry <--My new band!!

RickenbackerBassPlayer

Yes, and when he did jail time for the second time I think the Beatles and Rolling Stones came out. So he has been playing music for a quite some time now.

__________________
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." - Ludwig Van Beethoven

Baphomet

I was joking look at the date... 1855 to present?????? That makes him 150...

__________________
We walk without eyes, chained to these.
We stand pseudo life, slaves to machines.

http://www.myspace.com/prosedescry <--My new band!!

RickenbackerBassPlayer

Whoops. :tounge: wow I meant 1955. Sorry folks.

Edited.

__________________
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." - Ludwig Van Beethoven

rconkling

Chuck Berry is the sun source of rock n' roll. The first few bars of Maybelline is the birth place of it all-- I mean, it's as punk as anything ever done.

TheFuglyOne

Hail Hail Rock n Roll is one of my favorite live albums ever!