'If you tried to give Rock and Roll another name, you might as well call it Chuck Berry.' -- John Lennon
Chuck Berry just celebrated his 79th birthday on October 18, 2005, and it is my humble opinion that he is the most influential musician of the Twentieth Century.
Alan Freed may have invented the term 'Rock and Roll', but Chuck Berry defined the sound of Rock and Roll.
Les Paul may have invented the electric guitar, but Chuck Berry gave the electric guitar its definitive voice. There are no other comparable influences in Classical, Jazz or any other modern music than that of Chuck Berry on the origins of Rock and Roll.
In the Fifties, there were many great Rock and Roll piano players, such as Fats Domino, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, but the piano was bulky, needed a lot of musical expertise, and wasn't very loud. To make the point even more, only Elton John and Billy Joel managed to take the piano into Rock and Roll prominence in the 70's and there has never been anyone since.
The electric guitar was, and still is, affordable, portable, needs little in the way of technique to make it sound great, and with amplification, it is really loud!
It is a natural evolution from Chuck Berry to all the young musicians he would so profoundly affect.
He fused R&B and Blues into a pop formula that was entirely his own creation and he wrote original songs that sounded like nothing else before them.
His genius is reflected in how many young guitarists wrote new songs based on his riffs.
He inspired the guitar-based music of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and many other young musicians in the early Sixties, and thus set the standard for the modern sound of Rock and Roll. His inspiration can be heard in the sound and song structures of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, The Ramones, Metallica, Bryan Adams, Nirvana and even The White Stripes.
It was Chuck who gave Rock its original song structure as well. He was the quintessential Rock song writer, and the guitar riffs perfectly fitted the song structures he wrote. To this day, any kid who wants to play electric guitar should start with a Chuck Berry tune. The songs are simple three chord structures, defined by rhythm and vocal melody, and they help the novice to learn the chords as well as play with precise rhythm. All the basics in one tune at a time.
Chuck Berry was also a great vocalist. He had a strong and pure tenor, with perfect intonation, and a delivery that sounded younger than his age. Elvis' evocative baritone made him sound sultry, but Chuck's higher range and delivery sounded more like a horny male teenager.
Add to this unique combination of guitar and vocals, Chuck's delivery always sounded happy. He was never morose or depressed, and his brilliant lyrics perfectly conveyed the simple joy of teenage lust. My favorite Chuck Berry song is 'Nadine'. It is a classic 'driving' song, with a great beat. He describes the intensity of trying to catch up with the girl of his dreams who he sees out the window:
As I got on a city bus and found a vacant seat,
I thought I saw my future bride a-walkin' up the street.
I shouted to the driver 'Hey conductor you must,
Slow down, I think I see her,
Please let me off this bus.'
Nadine, honey is that you...
His lyrics were not profound, but it was the rhythm of the lyrics that drove the emotion. Chuck's songs were all about being horny, and the Rock beat and the voice gave the songs a fresh urgency, with the musical and lyrical punctuation becoming all the more dramatic.
Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard had the same intensity in their delivery, but being piano players, it was difficult to emulate what they were doing musically.
A young Keith Richards or John Lennon could play along with Chuck Berry.
His guitar punctuation is very important to the lyrical formula, and all future pop songs about teenage angst would come from Chuck's basic guitar structures.
Pop Music BC (Before Chuck), was orchestrated by arrangers, who put in a horn section or dramatic string swell to give the listener an accent point, but Chuck was the first to put the punctuation, via the guitar, right into the beat.
It is impossible to imagine the existence of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones without his influence.
I know this will sound Freudian, but that 'punctuation' is also an evolution of Chuck's stage persona. By creating the 'Duck-Walk' and the low crotch bends, Chuck was using the guitar on stage as a sexual expression.
The guitar as an extension of the penis was Chuck's stage invention.
This dramatic performance technique has been exploited by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, KISS, Prince, Motley Crue and Lenny Kravitz to name just a few.
No one had done this before Chuck Berry!
At the end of the Sixties, Chuck's best material had already been written, but he had one more trick up his sleeve. His biggest hit was about to happen with a silly little ditty titled 'My Ding-A-Ling'.
While most of his early songs were 2 minutes long, 'My Ding-A-Ling' was a ten-minute audience sing-along about masturbation. Go figure.
This totally contrived song sold better than all his other hits, and made him the darling of the Rock and Roll revival concerts that were happening in the late 60's and early 70's.
He more than obliged the promoters by playing his repertoire of early classic songs such as 'Rock and Roll Music', 'Maybeline' and 'Roll Over Beethoven', ending with his crowd-favorite 'My Ding-A-Ling'. Chuck Berry never failed to entertain.
Chuck was also famous for being difficult to work with, but knowing his past history, he had every reason to be cautious about whom he dealt with.
Early in his career, he had to give song-writing royalties to Alan Freed just so he could get airplay and be on the Alan Freed Rock and Roll tours.
Freed had Chuck on tour and in his movies, but he also had a piece of Chuck's song-writing royalties, and if that wasn't payola, it sure was extortion.
By the time Chuck released 'My Ding-A-Ling', he finally had total control of his music. He made a lot of money and played constantly.
Chuck's whole approach to doing live shows was very simple.
He traveled alone with just his guitar. The promoter supplied accommodation.
He never had a back-up band. The promoter would supply a local 3-piece group of guitar, bass and drums to accompany him. It was assumed that any back-up band worth their salt knew Chuck's songs.
He only met with the band during sound check at 5pm. He gave them the set-list and ran through just one or two tunes to see if the band was watching his cues.
Chuck would return later that night to do the show.
The first time Chuck played The Rock Pile, the backup band was adequate.
The second time a different backup band was awesome, and Chuck asked for them when he came back for the next gig.
This band was called 'Mary Lou Horner'. They were a rock and blues outfit with a very talented 16 year-old guitarist named Ben Mink.
Chuck was always paid in cash in US funds before he went on stage. He put the fat wad of money in his pants pocket, went on stage, and whipped the audience into a frenzy.
After a one hour show, he departed the stage blowing kisses as he hit the final chords on his guitar.
He would never do an encore.
No matter how loud or excited the audience screamed, Chuck Berry would simply relax backstage.
Chuck played The Rock Pile three times, the most by any artist or group.
He was wonderful every time.