-
Pray and Grow Rich
May 16, 2013 | 68 comments
-
Ruthie’s Way
May 2, 2013 | 6 comments
-
A Free and Indivisible Union
April 25, 2013 | 70 comments
-
Revoke Obama’s Peace Prize
April 18, 2013 | 80 comments
-
What the New Atheists Ignore
April 11, 2013 | 103 comments
The Nation's Pulse
Still Goode
After 58 years, the Brown Eyed Handsome Man still packs them in.
These past few years I’ve been on a musical heritage kick. My goal has been to see as many living music legends as I can before they (or I) join the choir eternal. It all began when Paul McCartney came to town a few years ago and I somehow landed free tickets. Like most people, I’d never gotten to see the Beatles — and with the demise of John and George I never would. Seeing Paul was the closest I was going to get. For an old man (I think he was 64 then), Paul was in good form, though he seemed to take advantage of the long ovations between Beatles chestnuts to get his wind.
Soon after that, I got to see was Charlie Louvin of Louvin Brothers’ fame. After the show we got to sit around the fire with Charlie while he told classic stories of Elvis and Hank. Good times.
I can kick myself for not seeing Johnny Cash before he walked the line for the last time. And Waylon Jennings. I think a Grateful Dead concert would have been fun, if only for the freak show value. Sadly, I’m going to miss Loretta Lynn this weekend (though my girlfriend will be there), but I hope to catch her (and Merle Haggard and George Jones and Billy Joe Shaver, etc…) the next time through. I also missed Leonard Cohen, when he came to town recently, though my brother was there. What did he think? “Best…show…ever.” If there is a next time, Leonard, I am there. He also got to see Frank Sinatra not long before Old Blue Eyes took his last bow. If only I had started my musical heritage kick a few years earlier.
There are some artists I know I should see, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Bob Dylan is one. I would’ve given my right arm to see Dylan when I was in college, but back then he was too good to tour. Now he comes to town every summer and plays at some minor league ballpark with Willie Nelson. I know he is supposed to be in the midst some kind of great comeback, with several Grammy winning albums of late, but I just don’t enjoy the new songs, and I don’t like what he does to the old songs (i.e., sing them). I prefer to remember him as he was.
The Rolling Stones is another band I am not going to see, assuming the Stones ever tour again. It’s not just that they haven’t put out a good album since Some Girl (this heritage kick of mine is about the whole career, not “what have you done for me lately?”), it’s more that tickets would be outrageously expensive and the crowds would be overwhelming. Same goes for The Who and Bruce Springsteen. It’s tough to be on a musical heritage kick when you dislike crowds.
SO I WAS UNDERSTANDABLY excited when, for Christmas, I received tickets to see Chuck Berry. When it comes to the Brown Eyed Handsome Man, I really had no excuse. Chuck plays every third Wednesday at the Duck Room at St. Louis’ Blueberry Hill, which is just a half-hour from my house. And yet I’ve put it off and off, something you really shouldn’t do with an 84-year-old musician.
Berry is different from all of the aforementioned artists (with maybe the exception of Dylan), because he was an originator. Here’s how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website describes Berry’s influence: “While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together.” Rolling Stone puts only Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley ahead of Berry on its greatest all-time artists list, and it is just plain wrong about Elvis. The King might have been a better crooner, but Chuck was the better musician, performer, and songwriter.
People from all over the world show up for these once-a-month gigs, featuring Chuck and his son Charles Jr., and his daughter Ingrid. And like all of his monthly shows, this Berry show sold out months in advance.
So, how’d he do? Well, he played like an 84-year-old living legend: he had trouble with some solos, he forgot a few lyrics, but when he finally broke into “Johnny B. Goode” toward the end of the set everything seemed to come together. On that one song, Chuck Berry was perfect. He even managed to perform a modified duck walk.
It was fifty-eight years ago that Chuck Berry began playing with the Johnnie Johnson’s Sir John Trio at the Cosmopolitan Club in East St. Louis. If rock and roll has a birthplace, that is probably it. I’ve been by the corner of 17th and Bond where the Cosmo Club stood. It is a weedy lot, strewn with broken bottles and bricks. There isn’t even a plaque.
But who needs a plaque when you still have the real thing?
About the Author
Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (62) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Christopher Orlet
More Articles From The Nation's Pulse
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/02/19/still-goode
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Pat| 2.19.10 @ 7:12AM
I have been on the same kick as you for a long time, only with comedians, too. That's how I got to see Sinatra, Bob Hope, George Burns, Shelley Berman and Jackie Vernon. Sadly, I missed Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., but I saw Sid Caesar do his "young man at his first dance" pantomime at the Hungry Eye from 20 feet away, so there.
I've caught most of the people on your list, plus Doc Watson (twice! - once in a tiny club where I got to sit about six feet away from him. It was like being in the presence of Abe Lincoln). I was lucky enough to see George Jones on a night when he actually showed up. I saw the Who twice, the first time with Keith Moon, the second time with Kenny Jones, and didn't feel the need to see them again after that (Jones is a good drummer, but without Moon, it was like someone let the air out of the tires). I saw Dylan on a night when the PA system was having problems and every song was accompanied by a painful, high-pitched squeal until I finally had to flee (and no, it wasn't his harmonica). I even saw Broooce in the late '70s, when he gave rousing three-hour shows without a lot of tuneless, whiny songs about how tough it is in Ammurika.
I caught all the early new wave/punk bands in my radio DJ days, even had lunch with Devo and got a Ramones guiltar pick from Johnny himself. It's currently proudly displayed over my mantle in the strings of an autographed guitar that Mike Huckabee gave me for Christmas (seriously). I've never seen the Stones, and frankly, never had much interest. But I've seen the Kinks several times and already have tickets for a solo show next month by Ray Davies. He's on tour now, so if you really want to see a rock legend, grab tickets for that.
Alan Brooks| 2.19.10 @ 6:09PM
Rock 'n' Roll is simplistic. It did inspire, eventually (approx. a decade) songs like Strawberry Fields;
however, '50s Rock 'n' Roll is so simple there's no need to listen to it-- you can pick up a guitar, play four chords, and DIY.
If you like it, fine. But I have no intention of ever listening to any Rock 'n' Roll again.
Bob | 2.22.10 @ 2:28AM
Good idea!
http://www.xmhansen.com/Swimwear-Fabric-c1.html/
Bill in Austin| 2.19.10 @ 10:06AM
I have always had mixed feelings about Chuck Berry. Certainly he was an originator. But, then again so was Ike Turner. I think the unfortunate truth is that Chuck hasn't been very good since about 1970. He invented a lot of what rock and roll guitar playing is all about. The performance contract he used to use is telling. He wanted the promoter to provide him with two Fender Dual Showman Reverb amps and a back-up band. Chuck would show up, play the concert, pocket the money and split. It is true that Chuck invented much of the vocabulary of licks that make up rock guitar, but as far as live performance is concerned, I've never seen him put on a good show. He has always forgotten lyrics, and you can tell he doesn't practice his guitar. His playing is sloppy and out of tune. Keith Richards plays Chuck Berry licks better than Chuck Berry does. And as far as who "invented" rock and roll, my vote goes to someone else.
Short anecdote:
About 15 years ago they were holding the Grammy award ceremony and this person was presenting one of the big awards like "Album of the Year", along with David Johansen, once lead singer of the New York Dolls, and later better known as "Buster Poindexter". David Jo was just standing there smiling with his pompadoured hair as this man started to talk. He started to introduce the nominees for the award, and in the middle of it looked over at Johansen's hair, stopped the introduction, looked back at the crowd and said: "Man, they stole everything from me!" The crowd erupted in laughter, as they realized how right he was. Then, he went back to presenting the Grammy. He got about halfway through, and then stopped. He looked at the audience, and with fake anger said: "Wait a minute! They never gave me no Grammy, and I am the architect of Rock and Roll!" The crowd let out a collective gasp at the sheer gall of the statement. Then they thought about it for a minute, and it dawned on them that he was probably right. One person rose, then another, then the entire auditorium gave him a standing ovation. The man was "Little Richard" Penniman.
astorian| 2.19.10 @ 10:29AM
For decades now, Chuck Berry has been too stingy to hire and maintain an actual touring band. Whenever he comes to a town for a gig, he hires a couple of local musicians to back him up, and pays them as little as he can get away with. There's little or no rehearsal- he just assumes every rock and roll musician knows most of his hits, and can fake the rest.
So, not only does Chuck regularly forget his lyrics, he;s usually playing with a band he's never worked or rehearsed with, and that's only vaguely familiar with most of his repertoire.
Trivial note: back in the early Seventies, a young unknown Bruce Springsteen and a few of his E Street cronies got to be that backup band.
astorian| 2.19.10 @ 10:32AM
They don't perform often any more, but the EverlyBrothers are still alive and still sound wonderful. I got to see them a few years back as "special guests" of Simon and Garfunkel (who, of course, started out as Everly imitators).
Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, Phil Everly still hits the high notes, and their harmonies sounded as good as ever.
Pingback| 2.19.10 @ 10:43AM
Brendan Coen's Real Estate Blog: Sonoma County Happiest Place in … | Sonoma County CA links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Seek| 2.19.10 @ 11:11AM
Deborah Harry/Blondie is as strong and sexy as ever. I'll vote for a comeback by her.
somnolence| 2.19.10 @ 1:12PM
Chuck Berry helped to accelerate what we know as rock music in its infancy. However, as far as innovation goes, the only thing he did was to speed up the rhythm and blues beat that had already been laid down by T-Bone Walker. Please listen to the famous guitar bridge on the Johnny B. Goode recording and then listen to Walker's earlier "Street Walkin' Woman." Berry simply lifted T-Bone's beautiful, precise solo and speeded it up. And most everyone should know that Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris recorded "Good Rockin' Tonight" years before Elvis. I did see Chuck in concert at Astroworld in Houston in 1977 and he put on a pretty good show and after it was over stood and signed autographs for a good 30 minutes. I still have the ticket and his signature.
Howard Hirsch| 2.19.10 @ 2:50PM
I always regretted that I never got a chance to see The Doors while growing up in New York before Jim Morrison shuffled off. They appeared at Madison Square Garden once, but I had a chem final the next day. Same with The Who, although after the Super Bowl performance and Keith and John gone, I don't know that I'd be missing anything at this point.
One 60s group I finally caught was The Chambers Brothers mid-90s at a club in Greenwich Village. Sadly there were only two of them left to perform, and the set was "less than optimal."
Also back around 1992 I finally decided that I should check out one of Les Paul's Monday night appearances at Fat Tuesday's. Glad I did that before I left the area.
Dave| 2.19.10 @ 3:02PM
Great read!
I know a little about Chuck Berry since I went to high school in suburban St. Louis where Chuck maintains his "country" estate. I think they call it "Berry Park." We used to drive by it every once and a while trying to catch a glimpse of Chuck. If I remember correctly a monument (gravestone) sat at the entrance announcing "Berry Park." When I started high school, in the late 70s, we were told by the upperclassmen that we had missed out. According to them Chuck used to host some pretty outrageous parties at Berry Park and he would invite seniors from the local, mainly white high school. However, again according to these tantalizing tales, these parties abruptly ended when Chuck's guests from East St. Louis got a little too rowdy at one of these parties and a girl or some girls ended up drowning in Chuck's pool.
After church on Sunday the family would often go to a local truckstop for Sunday dinner. We knew Chuck was inside when we spotted his brown, Cadillac Fleetwood with curb feelers in the parking lot.
A long-ago girlfriend's mother worked at a local bank and told me how Chuck would come in with one or more briefcases full of cash to deposit. I later learned in a documentary that Chuck had been ripped-off early in his career and had since insisted on cash-payment before he went on stage.
The last time I saw Chuck perform was at the Missouri State Fair sometime around 1987. A friend's father was the drummer hired for Chuck's band and invited us along. We got there and visited with this drummer for a while before the show. He pointed behind the grandstand stage to a brown, Cadillac Fleetwood in the pasture. Chuck was sitting inside, by himself, waiting to go on-stage. We were told Chuck had slept there in his car the previous night.
Anyway, Chuck came on stage. Almost immediately he became perturbed and started stopping playing and yelling at the band. He eventually kicked my friend's dad, the drummer, off the stage. He played poorly for about 30 minutes and that was it. He strolled off the stage to a rather large smattering of boos. I guess he wasn't in that great of mood. Guess he would have been in his 60s then.
Anyway, the article brought all of these memories flooding back. I hope you might find some of them interesting.
Tim| 2.19.10 @ 5:53PM
I have seen Chuck Berry a few times, but not for about 10 years. He puts little effort into his show and seems to have not rehearsed with his pickup band. He appears to be there to pick up a paycheck and that's all.
CBII | 2.19.10 @ 7:06PM
Chris,
You provided a fair accessment of my father in his 80's. Sure, there's a goofup now and again but the bottom line nearly everyone leaves the shows quite entertained. Unlike the normal practice, he refuses to read from a tele prompter, use a autotune device to correct his voice OR have the shows pre-recorded and lip sync.
The band you saw is the line-up he calls the Blueberry Hill band. It's the same sidemen that's backed him up for the last 14 years and are the primary players in the USA. The last four years had my sister, Jimmy Marsala (37 years with my dad playing bass) and myself plus a fantastic drummer from France and an excellent keyboard player from Norway. We played nearly 300 shows with this lineup in Europe.
Some have posted things they may have seen or what they've heard about. I have been there on stage or on it's side for a long time and the Chuck Berry I've observed gives 100% every time he takes the stage.
As to T-Bone Walker, dad admits he was one of his hero's and emulated his style. Just as Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn did with my dad and their hero's. As my father once said 'there's nothing new under the sun'.
Great blog and glad to see you enjoyed the show.
Margie| 2.19.10 @ 9:21PM
Dear Chris,
I think it's so cool that you came by here to talk about your Father. From a very young age I loved the old Rock n' Roll and on my 16th B. Day my best friend asked me (in the early 70's), if I'd rather go to see Zepplin or an Oldies concert at Madison Sq. Garden. Though I loved Led Zepplin I knew I couldn't possibly turn down getting the chance to see your Father, along with Jerry Lee Lewis perform! I was NOT disappointed. She got us floor seats and we were all standing up on them dancing and cheering and having the time of our lives. Your Dad, to me was thee coolest guy and will always love his style and talent. I also got to witness Jerry Lee Lewis play the piano with his darn feet! What an awesome time it was.
Please say a big thank you to your Father for me. :^)
God bless you both.
CBII | 2.20.10 @ 8:15PM
I will and thanks for the complement.
Margie| 2.19.10 @ 9:28PM
Oops. (Above is to CBII).
Nelson H.| 2.19.10 @ 9:49PM
Berry was everything you say, but you really need to listen to what Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five were playing 1946-1950. They had a tremendous influence on Berry. You listen to his guitar riffs, musical tics and singing style and you realize this is the direct descendant of rock 'n' roll. Berry did not appear in a vacuum; he was well-schooled in Jordan and other R&B artists of that time.
CBII | 2.20.10 @ 8:17PM
Nelson,
Everything you state is absolutely correct. My father looked up to Louis Jordan his band, Charlie Christian, Carl Hogan and countless others. Nothing is new under the sun.
Pingback| 2.19.10 @ 11:03PM
TwittLink - Your headlines on Twitter links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.19.10 @ 11:30PM
To Dance with Jim His Last Dance links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.20.10 @ 1:58AM
The TSB Other Deposit-taking Institutions | Money Tips Network | Banks Finance Wisdom links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Richard Baker| 2.20.10 @ 7:50AM
In my High School in Virginia in the late '60s, EVERY garage/schoolboy band played many of his '50s hits. Sinatra didn't have the voice at the end of his life but people still came to see him. Good or bad, these guys bring back the memories of younger/better times and that's probably the reason that folks continue to watch them perform unbtil they pass. Saw The Who in Frankfurt in 1973 and they were a powerhouse, to be sure. Today, not so good but ah, the memories.
Richard Baker| 2.20.10 @ 7:51AM
Correction:
until they pass
Margie| 2.20.10 @ 1:16PM
Richard,
Right you are. I saw the Who in the early 70's too, think it was at MSG NYC. I believe I went partially deaf from it. They were insanely loud but of course I thought them great anyway. One of my biggest thrills was seeing the Stones 3 nights in one week there. They handed out styrofoam frisbees with the tongue molded on them at the door. We had first level seats near the stage one night, and Mick Jagger motioned to me to throw mine to him, which I did. Well it landed on the stage at least, and he picked it up. It was another thrill of my little life at the time. LOL.
Oldefarte| 2.21.10 @ 11:03AM
Wasn't CHUCK involved in a sexual related legal matter years ago? Maybe we should elect Vick or Tiger president in 2012???????
Howard| 2.21.10 @ 12:16PM
The movie Cadillac Records has some nice Chuck Berry scenes. I did see Janis Joplin is 1969 in New Haven. Greatest concert I ever saw, and I went to Woodstock later that summer. Worst concert: Steppenwolf, horrible.
Herbi | 2.22.10 @ 2:30AM
pop toys !
james| 2.22.10 @ 10:14AM
I saw the Beatles at Shea in 1965. They were godawful and played for only 40 minutes. I saw the Doors at Hunter College (Tiny Tim opening for them, believe it or not) and they weren't much better. I saw Dylan at Forst Hills when he debuted his Fender, and now that was an experience. I never saw the Stones, but back in college there was an album going around by them called Got Live If You Want It. I can't imagine that it still exists, but it was so terrible that even at the age of 16 we were horrified and disillusioned. Then we went to SF and saw the Airplane and the Dead at the Avalon Ballroom. I don't remember the performances, but the scene there made modern antics look like what they are: corporate events.
And then there was Led Zeppelin at the Garden. Do I need to say anything else? Even with the Physical Graffiti crap tossed in, they are still the greatest band ever.
Thorn| 2.22.10 @ 6:07PM
My ding-a-ling, my ding-a-ling, I wanna play with my ding-a-ling.
~ Chuck Berry, great songwriter.
Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!!
RT| 2.22.10 @ 6:28PM
Oh, Chuck Berry (Chuck Berrious Maximus). I had the rare opportunity to be in his back-up band when he came through our town. He was very soft spoken and we (the band) were a little worried that the show would flop. Then the show started and he was great!
After the show, he thanked us and went on his way to the town for the next show
Pingback| 3.1.10 @ 10:14AM
T Bone Walker links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.1.10 @ 10:56AM
T Bone Walker - Nardu links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
出会い | 6.3.11 @ 4:12AM
kontiwa
سوريا | 6.25.11 @ 12:52AM
http://www.soryh.com
出会い | 7.21.11 @ 3:18AM
itumomiteimasu｡yoroshikune。
Puma x Alexander McQueen | 8.12.11 @ 11:38PM
is good