Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode (Live 1958)

Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for reminding us that on March 18, 2017 American guitarist, singer and songwriter Charles Edward Anderson Berry died aged 90. Thanks for honoring him by posting the music video of him playing Johnny B. Goode live in 1958.
Rest in peace Charles Edward Anderson Berry.

The Legendary CHUCK BERRY
"Filmed at Toronto's Rock & Roll Revival in 1969, titles include Johnny B. Goode, Maybelline, Sweet Little Sixteen, Hoochie Koochie Man, Rock & Roll Music and Carol."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8DwSdMVU0E

Images:
1. Chuck Berry in typical form :-)
2. 1972 Chuck Berry with his wife, Thematta.
3. Chuck Berry in 1958, posing with his Gibson hollow-body electric guitar.
4. Chuck Berry with wife Themetta in 2011
Biographies:
1. imdb.com/name/nm0001946/bio
2. chuckberry.com/about

1. Background from [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001946/bio]
"Overview, trivia and quotes below
Born October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Died March 18, 2017 in Wentzville, St. Charles County, Missouri, USA (natural causes)
Birth Name Charles Edward Anderson Berry
Nicknames The Prime Minister of Rock 'n' Roll; The King of Rock 'n' Roll; The Father of Rock 'n' Roll
Height 6' 0½" (1.84 m)

Background from blackpast.org/aah/berry-charles-edward-anderson-chuck-1926
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Charles Edward Anderson “Chuck” Berry was considered a pioneer of rock and roll and a major influence on 20th century popular music. His songs such as “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven” are rock and roll standards.

Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 18, 1926, to a middle class family which included six siblings. His father, Henry, worked in a flour mill, and his mother, Martha, was a college graduate. His mother played piano, and both she and his father were church singers, instilling in their son an early interest in music.

Despite his middle class family background, as a teenager, Berry and two high school friends were arrested for committing a short string of armed robberies in Kansas City, Missouri. Berry was convicted and served three years in prison between 1944 and 1947.

Shortly after he was released, Berry married Themetta Suggs, and the couple had two children. Berry settled into family life while working at an automobile assembly plant in St. Louis and taking jobs as a carpenter with his father. In his free time, Berry finally pursued an early fascination with guitar, taking lessons from Ira Harris, a local jazz guitarist.

By 1952, Berry was playing professional engagements in St. Louis clubs and eventually joined the St. John’s Trio, led by pianist Johnnie Johnson and including drummer Eddy Hardy. Berry incorporated elements of country into the trio’s sound, but he also brought in blues songs, turning the trio into a prototype rock and roll band.

In 1955, Berry traveled to Chicago, Illinois where he had a chance meeting with Muddy Waters and asked for advice about recording. Waters sent him to see Leonard Chess at Chess Records who listened to Berry’s home recording of “Ida Mae,” a popular country tune. Chess immediately offered a recording session. On May 21, 1955, Chuck Berry recorded “Ida Mae” with reworked lyrics and a new title, “Maybelline.” Berry’s first record, “Maybelline,” reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and sold over one million copies. By the late 1950s, Berry was an established star with several hit records, film appearances, and a profitable touring schedule. In 1962, however, his career was derailed when Berry was convicted of violating the Mann Act for allegedly transporting an underage girl across state lines for immoral purposes, a charge that Berry still disputes.

After his release in 1963, Berry had a string of hits, though none reached the popularity of his earlier recordings. By the 1970s he was primarily in demand for rock and roll revival shows where he played his past hits. In 1972 his live recording of the novelty pop song “My Ding-A-Ling” became his only #1 single on the U.S. pop charts. He continued touring, but his insistence on being paid in cash led to a third jail sentence of four months for tax evasion in 1979.

In 1986, Berry became one of the first musicians to be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is also listed as 5th in Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of The Greatest Artists of All Time and 7th on the list of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists. Another unique honor: "Johnny B. Goode" was included with the golden records launched with NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 space probes.

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry died at the age of 90 on March 18, 2017, in St. Charles, Missouri.



Trade Mark (5)
Duckwalk
Gibson guitars
Gibson ES-335
The "Johnny B. Goode" riff
Dynamic blues based guitar riffs

Trivia (22)
1. Father of Ingrid Berry.
2. Received the John F. Kennedy Center Honors (2000).
3. Received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1984).
4. He originally wanted to be a professional photographer and started singing and playing in a band to buy cameras and photography equipment. Some of his photographs of the famous and near-famous are hanging in galleries around the world today.
5. He worked as a janitor, carpenter and hairdresser.
6. He was arguably the most important figure in rock-n-roll in the 1950s, besides Elvis Presley. Although Presley had much more explosive record sales and greater commercial longevity, Berry was equally influential and had the satisfaction of knowing that he, unlike Presley, had written all of his own classics.
7. He was voted the fifth Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone.
8. His only #1 single was his controversial novelty song "My Ding a Ling".
9. One of his daughters, Aloha Berry, went to the same high school (University City Senior High School) as actor Edgar L. Davis and rapper Nelly.
10. Whenever he performed live, he always selected a venue which was near an Indian restaurant, so he could have a meal straight after the show. When he was at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall in the 1990s, the stage door was directly opposite the front door of the Mogul-E-Azam, so he was able to sneak out the stage door, across the alley and have his meal without traveling too far (one of the roadies on duty that night let slip about the restaurant information).
11. Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1982), the Blues Hall of Fame (1985), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (charter member) (1986), and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame (1986).
12. On June 1, 1979, President Jimmy Carter asked him to perform at the White House.
13. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1777 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California on October 7, 1987.
14. He was awarded a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri on June 25, 1989.
15. In Stephen King's novel "Christine", many chapters open with lyric fragments from his songs.
16. Until his passing, he performed on a Wednesday each month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant in the Delmar Loop neighborhood in St. Louis.
17. Born to a contractor and deacon of a Baptist church and his wife, a qualified principal, he was the third of six children.
18. He made his national television debut on November 8, 1957 on American Bandstand(1952) performing "Rock and Roll Music" twice in a row, by demand of the teenage dancers in the studio.
19. Served three jail terms: for armed robbery in 1944, for violation of the Mann Act in 1959, and for income-tax evasion in 1979. He served two years in the state penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, and was released in February 1964.
20. He owned a warehouse full of old Cadillacs, one from every three or four model-years, all the way back to the mid-1950s, which he claimed to be trying to get rid of; but said that nobody would give him a fair price, so he just stored them away.
21. Mentioned in "Chuck Berry Fields Forever" by Gilberto Gil, "Chuck Berry" by The Toasters, "I Hear You Knocking" by Dave Edmunds, and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" by Bob Seger.
22. On March 18, 2017, police in St. Charles County, Missouri were called to Berry's house, where he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene at age 90.

Personal Quotes (5)
1. People don't want to see seventeen pieces in neckties. They wanna see some jeans, some gettin' down and some wigglin'.
2. I love poetry. I love rhyming. Do you know, there are poets who don't rhyme? Shakespeare did not rhyme most of the time and that's why I do not like him.
3. It amazes me when I hear people say "I want to go out and find out who I am." I always knew who I was. I was going to be famous if it killed me.
4. [on his song "School Days"] I wanted to write about school because most of my audience at the particular time was a school element.
5. I would sing the blues if I had the blues."

2. Background from [http://www.chuckberry.com/about]
"FAST FACTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
Birth Name: Charles Edward Anderson Berry
Nicknames: Father of Rock ‘N’ Roll, The Prime Minister of Rock ‘N’ Roll
Occupation: Musician
Born: October 18, 1926
Birth place: St. Louis, Mo.
Parents: Henry and Martha Berry
Wife: Themetta Suggs-Berry
Children: Darlin Ingrid Berry-Clay, Melody Exes Berry-Eskridge, Aloha Isa Lei Berry, Charles Edward Berry Jr.
Siblings: Henry, Thelma, Lucy, Paul, Martha
Weight: 180 lbs
Musically influenced by: Nat "King" Cole, Muddy Waters
Trademark: Duckwalk
FAVORITES
Food: Enjoyed beef and seafood, peaches, home fries, candied yams, chili, grape soda, orange juice, Snickers bars and Dutch apple pie. Despised liver, okra, gumbo, celery, carrots, cooked onions, grapefruit, salami and liquor.
Hobbies: Playing music, softball, twenty questions, chess, croquet, highway driving
Comedians: Lucille Ball

BIOGRAPHY
Chuck Berry’s music has transcended generations. He earns respect to this day because he was truly an entertainer. Berry, also known as “The Father of Rock & Roll," gained success by watching the audience’s reaction and playing accordingly, putting his listeners’ amusement above all else. For this reason, tunes like “Johnny B. Goode,” “Maybellene” and “Memphis” have become anthems to an integrated American youth and popular culture. Berry is a musical icon who established rock and roll as a musical form and brought the worlds of black and white together in song. Born in St. Louis on October 18, 1926 Berry had many influences on his life that shaped his musical style. He emulated the smooth vocal clarity of his idol, Nat King Cole, while playing blues songs from bands like Muddy Waters. For his first stage performance, Berry chose to sing a Jay McShann song called “Confessin’ the Blues.” It was at his high school’s student musical performance, when the blues was well-liked but not considered appropriate for such an event. He got a thunderous applause for his daring choice, and from then on, Berry had to be onstage.
GUITAR LESSONS
Berry took up the guitar after that, inspired by his partner in the school production. He found that if he learned rhythm changes and blues chords, he could play most of the popular songs on the radio at the time. His friend, Ira Harris, showed him techniques on the guitar that would become the foundation of Berry’s original sound. Then in 1952, he began playing guitar and singing in a club band whose song list ranged from blues to ballads to calypso to country. Berry was becoming an accomplished showman, incorporating gestures and facial expressions to go with the lyrics. It was in 1953 that Chuck Berry joined the Sir John’s Trio (eventually renamed the Chuck Berry Combo), which played the popular Cosmopolitan Club in St. Louis. Country-western music was big at the time, so Berry decided to use some of the riffs and create his own unique hillbilly sound. The black audience thought he was crazy at first, but couldn’t resist trying to dance along with it. Since country was popular with white people, they began to come to the shows, and the audience was at some points almost 40 percent white. Berry’s stage show antics were getting attention, but the other band members did their parts as well. In his own words: “I would slur my strings to make a passage that Johnnie (Johnson) could not produce with piano keys but the answer would be so close that he would get a tremendous ovation. His answer would sound similar to some that Jerry Lee Lewis’s fingers later began to flay.”
> SOME GOOD ADVICE
Later in 1955, Berry went on a road trip to Chicago, where he chanced upon a club where his idol, Muddy Waters, was performing. He arrived late and only heard the last song, but when it was over he got the attention of Waters and asked him who to see about making a record. Waters replied, “Yeah, Leonard Chess. Yeah, Chess Records over on Forty-seventh and Cottage.” Berry went there on Monday and discovered it was a blues label where greats like Howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley recorded. He didn’t have any tapes to show, but Chess was willing to listen if he brought some back from St. Louis. So Berry went home and recorded some originals, including the would-be “Maybellene,” then called “Ida May,” and drove back to Chicago later that week to audition. Much to Berry’s surprise, it was that hillbilly number that caught Chess’ attention. Berry was signed to Chess Records and in the summer of 1955, “Maybellene” reached #5 on the Pop Charts and #1 on the R&B Charts. Through Chuck Berry, Chess Records moved from the R&B genre into the mainstream and Berry himself was on his way to stardom.
Berry continued his success with such hits as “Brown-Eyed Man,” “Too Much Monkey Business,” “Memphis,” “Roll Over, Beethoven!” and “Johnny B. Goode.” “Johnny B. Goode” is Berry’s masterpiece, as it brought together all the elements of Berry’s unique musical sound. It cemented his place in rock history and led to fame in the 1950s. His popularity garnered him television and movie appearances and he toured frequently. Berry’s incredible success is due to his ability to articulate the concerns and attitudes of his audience in his music. At the height of his success, Berry was a 30-year-old black man singing to a mostly white, teenage audience. Dubbed the “Eternal Teenager,” Chuck Berry’s knowledge of the pop market made it possible for him to break color barriers and play to an integrated audience. In the 1960s and 1970s, Berry’s music was the inspiration for such groups as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Berry had a number of comeback recordings and in 1972 had the first and only #1 Pop Chart hit of his career with “My Ding-A-Ling. 1986 fittingly saw him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the very first inductee in history. As a tribute to his pervasiveness in the realm of rock, a clip of “Johnny B. Goode” was chosen played in the Voyager I spacecraft, proving Chuck Berry and his rock legacy are truly out of this world.

QUOTES BY OTHER PEOPLE
"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
-John Lennon
"Berry's On Top is probably my favorite record of all time; it defines rock and roll. A lot of people have done Chuck Berry songs, but to get that feel is really hard. It's the rock and roll thing--the push-pull and the rhythm of it."
-Guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith
"All of Chuck's children are out there playing his licks."
-Bob Seger, Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets
"There's only one true king of rock 'n' roll. His name is Chuck Berry."
-Stevie Wonder
"[My mama] said, 'You and Elvis are pretty good, but you're no Chuck Berry.'"
-Jerry Lee Lewis
"To me, Chuck Berry always was the epitome of rhythm and blues playing, rock and roll playing. It was beautiful, effortless, and his timing was perfection. He is rhythm supreme. He plays that lovely double-string stuff, which I got down a long time ago, but I'm still getting the hang of. Later I realized why he played that way--because of the sheer physical size of the guy. I mean, he makes one of those big Gibsons look like a ukulele!"
-Guitarist Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones
"Of all the early breakthrough rock and roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers."
-Cub Koda
"While Elvis was a country boy who sang "black" to some degree ... Chuck Berry provided the mirror image where country music was filtered through an R&B sensibility."
-Clive Anderson
"Well, Chuck Berry is the first singer-songwriter I know of."
-Roy Orbison
"You are most certainly the inspiration for all of today's rock 'n' roll guitarists. Your music is timeless."
-Motown Legend Smokey Robinson
"Chuck Berry is a musical scientist who discovered a cure for the blues.''
-Singer Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
"The epitome of what it is to be a rock 'n' roll guitar player, songwriter and singer."
-Joan Jett

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Present Day Performs at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant and bar located in St. Louis, Mo., one Wednesday each month. June 27, 2006 "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll" is re-released on DVD for the first time ever.
September 2, 1995 Performs "Johnny B. Goode" alongside Bruce Springsteen at the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
October 8, 1987 The film " Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll" is released. It is a live tribute to Berry, and is directed by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
1987 Publishes his honest and insightful autobiography.
January 23, 1986 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City.
February 26, 1985 Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards.
June 1, 1979 Performs for President Jimmy Carter.
March 1, 1978 Appears as himself in the film "American Hot Wax," a biography about deejay Alan Freed.
October 21, 1972 The song "My Ding-a-Ling" (originally "My Tambourine") reaches No. 1, the only Berry recording to top the charts.
May 1, 1972 The London Chuck Berry Sessions is released; it becomes Berry's top-selling album, hitting No. 8 on the charts.
1965 Appears in concert film featuring the TAMI (Teen-Age Music International) Show, along with The Beach Boys, Rolling Stones and more.
May 31, 1961 Opens own amusement park, called Berryland, outside St. Louis.
March 17, 1958 "Sweet Little Sixteen" grabs No. 1 spot on R&B chart and No. 2 on pop chart, while rock & roll classic"Johnny B. Goode" gets No. 2 on R&B and No. 8 on pop.
September-November 1957 Goes on tour with the "Biggest Show of Stars for '57," which also included Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, etc.
June 30, 1956 Berry's song "Roll Over Beethoven" takes the second spot on the R&B chart, and gets to No. 29 on the pop chart.
September 1955 "Maybellene" hits No. 5 on Billboard's Rock and Roll Singles chart.
May 21, 1955 Records first songs, "Maybellene" and "Wee Wee Hours."
May 1955 Takes a roadtrip to Chicago; talks briefly to Muddy Waters, who refers him to Chess Records. There he lands a recording contract.
December 30, 1952 Receives a call from pianist Johnnie Johnson asking Berry to join the Sir John's Trio, a band that played at the very popular Cosmopolitan Club.
June 13, 1952 Joins Tommy Stevens in a house band that played Huff's Garden every Saturday.
1941 Performs at his school's musical stage performance, singing "Confessin' The Blues" while accompanied by his friend, Tommy Stevens, on guitar. Stevens' powerful performance inspires him to learn how to play the instrument himself.

ACHIEVEMENTS
First singer/songwriter of 1955
First guitarist/singer to get on Billboard charts
Directly inspired great rock icons The Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley
United blacks and whites by producing music that appealed to everyone
His single "Johnny B. Goode" made the top 10 in 1958
Had the number one single in 1972 with "My Ding-a-ling"
Performed for President Jimmy Carter at the White House in 1975
Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986
Released his autobiography in 1987
"Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" made its debut in 1987
Berry performed "Johnny B. Goode" with Bruce Springsteen at the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995
1977 Johnny Be Goode included content on Voyager 1 spacecraft

AWARDS
2014 Polar Music Prize
2012 PEN Literary Award Winner
2002 BMI ICON award winner; other winners were Little Richard and Bo Diddley
1987 Receives a star on Hollywood Boulevard in California
1989 Honored with a star on Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri
1985 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1985 Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards
1982 Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association International Hall of Fame"

FYI Maj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland MSG Andrew White Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarterLTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" NagelSP5 Jeannie CarleSPC Chris Bayner-Cwik TSgt David L.PO1 Robert GeorgeSSgt Boyd Herrst Col Carl Whicker SPC Margaret Higgins

The one that arguably started it all!

Great music share.