Chuck Berry makes Rolling Stone’s to-do list
By Kevin C. Johnson


Chuck Berry

It’s not like Chuck Berry needs extra publicity — his monthly concerts here are regular sellouts.

But it certainly won’t hurt that the classic rocker made Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 40 Things to Be Excited About Music in the current issue with Black Eyed Peas on the cover.

Berry comes in at No. 9 on the list, “because you can still see Chuck Berry play once a month.”

The accompanying text reads:

“On one Wednesday every month, at 9 p.m. sharp, a white Cadillac pulls into the parking lot of St. Louis’ Blueberry Hill club. Chuck Berry, 83, pulls his guitar case from the trunk and descends a deep set of stairs to the Duck Room, ready to prove yet again that rock & roll isn’t dead as long as the man most credited with inventing it is still picking and screaming.

As the audiences screams for ‘Maybellene’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ Berry honors every request. During some songs, he forgets the lyrics and cracks jokes instead. In others, he is stunning, letting loose blistering guitar solos that still possess the feral energy that gave birth to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and thousands of other rock bands.

“One night, we were talking about the early days,” says Blueberry Hill owner Joe Edwards, “and he said ‘you know, I’d really like to play the kinds of places I played when I was starting out.’ ” That conversation took place in 1996. And since then, Berry has missed only one month. Even when he’s not playing, Berry stops in for chicken wings and conversation. “I didn’t think I’d live this long,” he says. “So now my motivation is to be around until 2020.”

[interact.stltoday.com]

EdithGrove..Its good to read things like that.

As a guitar player, I can tell you that his guitar playing is far more difficult to do accurately than understood by any non-guitarist or even guitarists themselves.

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Carnaby
As a guitar player, I can tell you that his guitar playing is far more difficult to do accurately than understood by any non-guitarist or even guitarists themselves.

Exactly. The basics are easy, he pretty much sticks to the I-IV-V, so his songs are easy to figure out and play rhythm wise. But playing the intros to, say, Johnny B. Goode or Down The Road A Piece note for note, exactly like he does on the originals, ain't so easy.

There's a lot of things on his records, and that he does live, that I wish I could play but can't. One of the great things about Chuck's music though is that it lends itself so well to individual interpretation.

I'm one of those musicians who don't believe in playing other people's stuff note-for-note. However, that doesn't mean I'd play their songs the easiest way possible. It took some time to come up with a convincing version of Johnny B Goode, even longer with Memphis Tennessee, which some people regard as a very easy song to play! I also love to play Maybellene the only one I found easy to learn (and even there my soloing differs greatly from Chucks timing), and some might say those three songs cover everything Chuck ever did... NOT TRUE, of course. There's the blues, latin-tinged things and ballads among the Johnny B Goode rewrites.
I know a really great guitarist in Finland who has been in bands since the late 50's, and doesn't get Chuck's greatness at all, to him the fact that most of Chuck's 12-bar songs don't have turn-arounds is just a sign of laziness and inadequate chops!

Hail Hail the King of the Riff!

chuck berry plays a mean guitar but it's his lyrics that knock me down.

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Child Of Clay
I'm one of those musicians who don't believe in playing other people's stuff note-for-note.

You & Keith may have something in common:

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Child Of Clay
I'm one of those musicians who don't believe in playing other people's stuff note-for-note. However, that doesn't mean I'd play their songs the easiest way possible. It took some time to come up with a convincing version of Johnny B Goode, even longer with Memphis Tennessee, which some people regard as a very easy song to play! I also love to play Maybellene the only one I found easy to learn (and even there my soloing differs greatly from Chucks timing), and some might say those three songs cover everything Chuck ever did... NOT TRUE, of course. There's the blues, latin-tinged things and ballads among the Johnny B Goode rewrites.
I know a really great guitarist in Finland who has been in bands since the late 50's, and doesn't get Chuck's greatness at all, to him the fact that most of Chuck's 12-bar songs don't have turn-arounds is just a sign of laziness and inadequate chops!

I feel the same way about copying someone note for note, but there are a few exceptions to that rule, and also things I'd like to be able to play just for my own personal satisfaction. Intros like Johnny B. Goode and Down The Road A Piece are two examples of that. Plus, that intro to Johnny is one of those signature licks that, for me, doesn't work as well when someone strays too far from it, even Chuck himself.

Also, they would be nice to know so I could use them in general. I can play my own bastardized versions of some of his simpler leads, but I'd like to be able to play more, and play them like they were on the original recordings. Especially his slides and things where he moves up and down the neck a lot, like in Brown Eyed Handsome Man.

I can understand a guy like your acquaintance in Finland thinking Chuck is lazy or not that great. I don't agree with that at all, but Chuck's music in general is pretty basic and simple. I can understand an accomplished player who isn't into Chuck's music seeing him as not such a great player from a more technical standpoint. I think it's bullshit, but I can understand it. Like a lot of "pop" music players though, what Chuck plays to earn a living doesn't always accurately portray his complete skills as a musician.