Chuck Berry: interesting facts, best songs, biography, listen

Chuck berry

Want to know how rock and roll history started? With the courageous experiments of Chuck Berry. This lively, energetic African American has become a source of inspiration for many musicians. Fans of the genre are wondering: would you hear the world of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Animals, if not for Chuck Berry? He literally created modern musical culture. Just look at the recordings of his performances in order to understand where the rock musicians took the characteristic style of playing the electric guitar, the rock poses and the duck walk. All this is Chuck Berry, who was not afraid to combine black and white cultures and create a new stage in the development of music.

short biography

Charles Edward Anderson Berry, namely the full name of the musician, was born in St. Louis Missouri. This event took place on October 18th of the distant 1926. In those days, the white population of the southern and western regions of the United States played country music, and the black sang "working songs" or blues. The future artist’s musical preferences were also influenced by the family: his father was a deacon of the Baptist church and sang in the choir. Although Mom was a school principal, she also did not deny herself the pleasure of performing spiritual songs or spirituals, and the sisters entertained the whole large family with the piano. Therefore, one should not be surprised at the predilection for music of a little boy.

The childhood of the future musician was relatively calm. He did not feel an urgent need for money, because the family had an average income, went to school and played with friends. One but. A talented and intelligent boy did not differ exemplary behavior. In the senior class, Chuck began a "real adult life" - he was given a three-year juvenile prison for hijacking and robbery. But in 1941, three years before this event, he played his first concert in the walls of his native school. Stormy temper and living in the "black quarter" had a pitiful result.

Coming out of prison, the young man decided to settle down. He ties up with crime, works as a laborer and continues to devote time to music - he could be heard in bars and clubs in St. Louis. After some time, he marries Temette Soddy and becomes the father of the charming girl Darlene. Family life really changed him: he got a job at a car manufacturing plant to support his wife and daughter, and began to earn good money - the family moved to a small house. But the music has not disappeared anywhere, despite the maelstrom of the problems of adult life. Chuck placed a special mission on her: he wanted to make his talent a source of additional income. His desire was destined to come true soon.

A call on New Year's Eve in 1952 forced the future rock and roll star to leave a cozy home environment and go to Illinois to replace a sick saxophone player in the band Johnny Johnson. 26-year-old Chuck first played for the money. Earnings amounted to only 4 dollars, but this was only the beginning.

By this point, Berry was already a local celebrity. In the clubs of his native city he was known for his bold mixing of country and blues. But to make money on songs, you need to release discs. Chuck understood this, so he purposefully sought a solution. And in 1955, Muddy Walters, bluesman, advised him to contact the owner of Chess Record, Leonard Chess. He asked to bring Chuck records of his songs in a week. But where to get them, if the musician played only alien melodies in his own way? Without thinking, Berry for the week created 4 songs and went to meet. The contract was made, and one of the songs, "Ida mae", was renamed "Maybellene" and became the first hit. Chuck Berry is becoming popular among whites and blacks.

Having tasted the first success, the musician begins to release new hits. In addition, the public was waiting for them. His compositions start to sound from every radio, from every house, which, of course, very much inspired Chuck. At the same time, after the fame grew and fees - music has become the main income. Here are just the popularity of African-American, not everyone liked. To bring down arrogance from a star, he was accused of having sex with a minor. As a result of the appeals, the sentence impregnated with racism was a year and a half instead of five.

Coming out of prison in 1963, the rock musician signed a contract with "Mercury Records" and began to record new hits. But the public no longer perceives them with the same excitement, the big fees continued to bring in old singles. And it's not in the criminal past. His main hits, as it turned out, Chuck wrote at the beginning of his career. The singer is not upset: he starts touring around the world. A break in the works comes in the late 70s and is associated with another conclusion. This time, the star was imprisoned for tax debts.

In subsequent years, nothing remarkable happened in Chuck Berry's career. No new single or album, just touring and playing in his native St. Louis.

On his 90th birthday, a famous rock musician announced the release of a new album 38 years after the release of the compilation "Rock it". But fate did not allow a bright personality to translate plans into action. His mortal hour struck March 18, 2017. Doctors tried to reanimate the unconscious musician, but to no avail. The whole era has ended, according to Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones.

Despite the death of the singer, the planned album was released in June 2017. It bears the symbolic name "Chuck" and includes songs that no one had heard before. Children of the musician took part in the preparation of the CD: Charles Berry Jr. and Ingrid Berry. For them he was always the best dad, and for the whole world - the father of rock and roll.

Interesting Facts

• Mastering playing guitar Chuck was only 15 years old. For this, he bought a large number of textbooks and devoted all his time to this tool. The persistence of a teenager could only envy. He quickly learned to play a four-string tenor guitar and soon picked up songs that sound on the radio. He acquired a six-string electric guitar much later, in the early 50s, when he returned to normal after the first conclusion.
• Until Chuck's songs reached the top of the charts, he worked as a carpenter and studied at the barber.
• Chuck's famous duck walk is rooted in childhood. Even then, he loved to walk on bent legs, so that at any moment he quickly slipped under the table. The boy grew up, and the habit became part of rock culture.
• Was it any wonder that the name Chuck Berry occupies an honorable place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? We think not. It is engraved on the "Walk of Fame" in Hollywood.
• The story of the song "Johnny B.Goode" has an extraterrestrial sequel. On board the Voyager vehicles, launched in 1977, are gilded discs. They collected samples of the cultural heritage of mankind, including the composition of the village boy Johnny.
• Chuck Berry toured around the world, he visited with live performances in Russia, where he last sang in 2014 in Moscow. Alexander Rosenbaum, who dedicated a song to a rock musician, wanted to sing along with a celebrity. But the plans did not come true until the end. Chuck Berry came to the concert, but refused to rehearse and sing. The musicians just shook hands in the presence of the public and went their separate ways.
• In St. Louis is the club "Blueberry Hill". It was here that Chuck gave concerts every Wednesday. Even the age did not interfere with the musician to observe this tradition.
• The name Chuck Berry has consistently been associated with the hollow guitars of the American company Gibson. He played them for decades. The soft, acoustic sound of this model exactly matched the precise rhythm of rock and roll. By the way, Waf Montgomery and John Lennon used hollow guitars.
• The famous rock musician did not have his own band. Arriving on tour in a strange city, he found a local group who knew his repertoire well. The question of the concert was resolved. At the same time from such cooperation he had good impressions. He believed that temporary groups play no worse than constant, and they take less.
• Always take 2000 dollars for a concert, regardless of the number of people present in the hall - did someone do that? Yes, that's exactly what Chuck Berry did. Although I always demanded an advance payment: I came for half the amount and left. Such behavior may cause hostility to the artist, but he did it for a reason. Impacted prison life and promoters who cheated on him. After such events, Chuck began to demand money in advance and ended his concerts at exactly the agreed time, even if he had to cut off the song.
• Music is not Chuck's only legacy. In St. Louis, he built an entertainment center, which he named after himself - Berry Park. On the square there is a house, a pool in the form of a favorite guitar instrument, as well as a concert hall and a restaurant.
• Chuck Berry's songs created not only cover versions, but also parodies. So, The Beatles recorded the song "Back to the USSR". The basis was the composition of Chuck "Return to the United States." At the same time, the Beatles adopted the style of The Beach Boys, the popularity of which was provided by the single "Surfin USA", copied in turn from the work of Chuck Berry. The result was a double plagiarism.
• Artists are usually associated with any wardrobe item. Chuck Berry had this captain's cap. By the way, he began to walk in it much earlier than the Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov.
• Chuck's creative legacy includes 20 studio albums, the best-selling of which is "The Chuck Berry London Sessions ", released in the early 70s.

The best songs of Chuck Berry

The founder of the rock direction has released about 50 singles. Here are the most famous and popular ones.

• "Johnny B.Goode" - classic rock standard. Rolling Stone magazine recognized it as the best among guitar songs. Written in the late 50s, it tells about the life of the village boy Johnny, who loved to play the guitar. The pianist Johnny Johnson became the inspirer of the single. Chuck worked with him for a long time. The autobiographical moment is also reflected in the song: there are words in the text that Mom predicts fame for Johnny. Chuck himself was also supported by his mother. Another interesting detail associated with this composition. In the original text, Johnny was "colored", not "village". This was done was intended to make the song aired on radio stations.

"Johnny B.Goode" (listen)

• "My ding-a-ling". This is perhaps the only successful single written by Chuck after a second imprisonment. The song was released in 1972 and quickly soared to the top of the charts, but did not stay there for long. The uniqueness of this composition lies in the fact that apart from her, no single single Berry did not occupy an honorable top place in the charts.
• The song "Rock and roll music", from an early period of creativity, is the revelation of the musician. In it, he told why he chose rock and roll. A peculiar ode was sung by many performers. The most popular is the version of The Beatles, which took a higher line in the American chart, in contrast to the original: 5th place against 8th.

"Rock and roll music" (listen)

• "You never can tell" was written in 1964, when Chuck was serving a second term. The song is dedicated to two young newlyweds, whose life is full of lightheadedness and carelessness. In the charts, this composition was able to reach only 14 lines. They rehearsed her, created cover versions, but Quentin Tarantino created a real rush around her. It is for this single, 30 years after its appearance, that the characters in the film Pulp Fiction dance a twist. And the song, and dance forever remained in the soul of moviegoers. This melody was also used on Russian television: it sounded in the telecast “Bad Egg Notes”.

"You never can tell" (listen)

• "Maybellene". It all started with her. Although originally it had a different name - "Ida mae" - and was a treatment of the folk country song "Ida red". This name did not please Leonard Chess, the owner of the record company, it sounds too rustic, so it was decided to rename it. But how best to name the song? Leonard's gaze falls on the Maybelline brand mascara box - and the problem is solved. The word changed only one letter. For the authorship of the song, Chuck Berry even had to sue - Leonard pointed out as co-authors of two DJs who helped unwind the single.

The best films about Chuck Berry and his participation

Chuck Berry was able to light on the stage. His artistry was appreciated by filmmakers in the form of proposals in the shooting. He participated in the creation of musical teen films "Rock, rock, rock!" (1956) and "Come on, Johnny, come on!" (1959), where he played himself.

In 1987, director Taylor Hackford decided to pay tribute to the work of the singer and made the film "Glory, Glorify Rock and Roll!" This autobiographical tape, the creation of which was attended by many rock musicians, brought up on the work of his idol.

Director Darnell Martin also decided to tell about the life of rock musicians, including Chuck Berry. He made the Cadillac Records musical tape in 2008, which tells how Leonard Chess founds his own label and opens the doors of his studio to musical legends. Chuck is played by actor Mos Def. Not in the film without the songs of the great musician. "Maybellene", "No Particular Place to Go" and other compositions sound in the tape.

Chuck Berry Music in Movies

The clear, memorable rhythm of the songs of the founder of rock and roll has become the adornment of many films. Here are just a small part of the films, soundtracks for which served as the work of Chuck.

Chuck Berry's songs accompanied the various TV shows: The Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls, Married ... With Children, and more.

Features creativity Chuck Berry

Breaking stereotypes and removing the barrier between the musical cultures of the white and the black population is what brought Chuck Berry a great success. He was not afraid to mix the blues with country, creating a new American music.

Poems in his songs held a special place. No wonder he was called "the poet of rock and roll." He sang about the lives of people whose youth came in the 50s. Simple lines revealed everyday things, emotions and experiences of adolescents. According to John Lennon, before Chuck, everyone sang about nothing that he brought social overtones to music. Each artist's song is a separate story, taken from life or invented on the go. This Chuck remembered by all.

Jazzman Charlie Christian and bluesman T-Bone Walker influenced the work of the rock musician. It was their recordings that he listened to and reproduced when he was learning to play the guitar. Becoming an adult, Chuck sang Muddy Waters and Nat's "King" Cole songs in St. Louis clubs.

It is difficult to find words to describe the meaning of Chuck Berry for the world of music. But John Lennon succeeded in this, who noted that the name Chuck Berry was the second name for rock and roll. And that's it.