He plays piano on Let It Rock and Wee Wee Hours.

yeah! plays like a rookie, he´s a guitar player though he isn´t that good, anyway I like his music

He looks very cool here!

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Dali
He plays piano on Let It Rock and Wee Wee Hours.

Hum... Takes me back to a discussion we were having about his influences here on IORR.

CBII

cbII what keys does he favor, if any particularly, when he plays piano please?
would be interesting to see his approach...what keys the songs might have originally been in...and also did ur dad do any of his writing on piano.
bless u cbII. hope u and your dad are well and doing fine...his classic lyrics are like still untoppable popular folk narrative of all times and ages...to me these stories are as powerful as dylan's lyrics or anybody's and are one of the few cultural artifacts of this entire era that are going to outlast almost everything else. infectious, seemingly effortless...but i bet not. any stories about his writing...i know it's from waaay bak in the day...but any info about his writing, or his attitudes or approaches back then would be greedily scooped up. i wonder when and why he stopped actually working on lyrical narratives like that...anyway...thnx man take care...

Chuck Berry is great. His guitar still has the price-tag on it. I love Chuck !!
Rock and Roll,
Mops

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Beelyboy
cbII what keys does he favor, if any particularly, when he plays piano please?
would be interesting to see his approach...what keys the songs might have originally been in...and also did ur dad do any of his writing on piano.
bless u cbII. hope u and your dad are well and doing fine...his classic lyrics are like still untoppable popular folk narrative of all times and ages...to me these stories are as powerful as dylan's lyrics or anybody's and are one of the few cultural artifacts of this entire era that are going to outlast almost everything else. infectious, seemingly effortless...but i bet not. any stories about his writing...i know it's from waaay bak in the day...but any info about his writing, or his attitudes or approaches back then would be greedily scooped up. i wonder when and why he stopped actually working on lyrical narratives like that...anyway...thnx man take care...

Pretty much the same ones he plays on guitar (E, E flat, B Flat, C, G). Then again, just like on stage, many times it depends on where his hands land on the keyboard and if he can sing in a particular key. Although no Bach, his keyboard abilities work well in creating songs. There was a Fender Rhodes at the house for those times when an Ah-Ha moment came about. Same thing on the Saxophone, although I have not see him use one of those since I was a very little boy.

My grandfather loved poetry and so does my dad. He (my dad) would sit around the house and start in on something free style (to use a hip-hop term). It was really interesting. He still does create lyrics and music. Some of the stuff over the past 30 years really are very captivating. Think of Bio, Down Bound Train or Dear Dad. Really great lyrics with great music that perfectly complement each other. The recent Rolling Stone interview I think puts things into perspective. He wants to release a hit and nothing less. My fellow band members already think he's there. We are prodding him to release singles if not the entire work and see where it goes.

CBII

Please DO encourage him to release new material CBII!

I would love to be able to buy a new Chuck Berry CD. Not only does he deserve the recognition and monetary reward but it could really be great for him personally as well.

Tell him that Jerry Lee Lewis has released 2 cds in the last couple years that have been highly acclaimed and sold well and his fans loved them. Maybe that will stir Chuck's competative streak and make him release something.

Also, he is a part of our lives, it doesn't have to be a hit. Hell, we would just like to hear from him again!

Thanks for the great info, CBII. Hopefully I'll see you guys in Serbia one day.

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CBII

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Beelyboy
cbII what keys does he favor, if any particularly, when he plays piano please?
would be interesting to see his approach...what keys the songs might have originally been in...and also did ur dad do any of his writing on piano.
bless u cbII. hope u and your dad are well and doing fine...his classic lyrics are like still untoppable popular folk narrative of all times and ages...to me these stories are as powerful as dylan's lyrics or anybody's and are one of the few cultural artifacts of this entire era that are going to outlast almost everything else. infectious, seemingly effortless...but i bet not. any stories about his writing...i know it's from waaay bak in the day...but any info about his writing, or his attitudes or approaches back then would be greedily scooped up. i wonder when and why he stopped actually working on lyrical narratives like that...anyway...thnx man take care...

Pretty much the same ones he plays on guitar (E, E flat, B Flat, C, G). Then again, just like on stage, many times it depends on where his hands land on the keyboard and if he can sing in a particular key. Although no Bach, his keyboard abilities work well in creating songs. There was a Fender Rhodes at the house for those times when an Ah-Ha moment came about. Same thing on the Saxophone, although I have not see him use one of those since I was a very little boy.

My grandfather loved poetry and so does my dad. He (my dad) would sit around the house and start in on something free style (to use a hip-hop term). It was really interesting. He still does create lyrics and music. Some of the stuff over the past 30 years really are very captivating. Think of Bio, Down Bound Train or Dear Dad. Really great lyrics with great music that perfectly complement each other. The recent Rolling Stone interview I think puts things into perspective. He wants to release a hit and nothing less. My fellow band members already think he's there. We are prodding him to release singles if not the entire work and see where it goes.

good deal. thnx for thoughtful post. he THE master of folk narrative as well as father of rock and roll. almost in tradition of the cowboy poets too when i think about it. chuck's tales of american culture thru his characters etc...it's some of the finest stuff we have. take care. go ahead and get that hit. haw. chuck ain't gonna listen to no producer and you know it!
peaceout

there's a moment on the bonus disc of Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll where Berry and Robbie Robertson are talking and Chuck starts reciting some poetry off the top of his head. really amazing stuff. does anyone know what it was that he was quoting?

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CBII
He still does create lyrics and music. Some of the stuff over the past 30 years really are very captivating. Think of Bio, Down Bound Train or Dear Dad. Really great lyrics with great music that perfectly complement each other. The recent Rolling Stone interview I think puts things into perspective. He wants to release a hit and nothing less. My fellow band members already think he's there. We are prodding him to release singles if not the entire work and see where it goes.

YES!!

I hope you guys are working on ol' Dad to give in--because I know I like many, many others--would absolutely LOVE to hear what your dad's been cooking up these last few decades. I hope he decides to release it while we're blessed to have him around. Would love for him to receive the acclaim and success of a new project.

There is definitely an audience out there that would love to hear his new songs. I hope he changes his mind!

Oh and what "recent Rolling Stone interview"???

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Justin
Oh and what "recent Rolling Stone interview"???

The September 1st issue of Rolling Stone magazine has a couple page interview with him. One of the better interviews as a matter of fact. The cover in the United States has three people with blood all over them. Apparently, they are starts in some vampire movie or TV show.

CBII

I remember he was in Phil Spectors suite after a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame show at the Waldorf in 1994. He was chatting with some chick & I walked over to ask him to play a song on the empty grand piano. Soon, he & Phil were playing together. My friend said he heard Phil say...none of that Keith Richards shit. Sadly, I did not play piano then ...can't even play much now aside from a few favorite tunes. I love Keiths playing & song selections. But I was always proud that I knew Chuck could play the piano! I do remember Tom Constantine (early Dead keyboardist)playing Boris the Spider.

Thanks CBII...I will definitely go hunt it down..hopefully still on the stands. I'm glad RS is still keeping an eye on your dad!

Hey CBII, while I have your ear...do we have any Chuck Berry products that are on the pike that we can look forward to? The latest TAMI DVD features your dad nicely. I see that career spanning box sets of your Dad's recordings have reached into the 70's with the material on CD. Is there anything you can share that we can keep our eyes and ears out for?

BIG on my wish-list is the London 1972 telecast. It's all over YouTube and one of my favorite performances by Chuck---I think it's his best stuff. Any info you can share would be most welcome.

Would anyone be able to post a scan of the article? All the stores near me have the latest issue of RS mag and not the one with the Chuck interview...