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Nikkei
That's what makes it even more peculiar... Ronnie like "Guess it is up to me" but he isn't really the one who owes him
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TheGreek
Would it have killed the Stones to invite Chuck to join them on stage once in a blue moon ? No, and actually acknowledge the King of Rock and Roll Guitar !
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frankotero
Georgie48, that's an interesting perspective. Though I'm a huge Chuck Berry fan I suspect you're right. And somehow Ronnie is not stuck inside this situation, so he's free to do as he likes.
Great post ! Thank you for reminding me about the PPV St. Louis invitation , and also Mick and Keith's heartfelt comments in memoriam to Chuck Berry .Quote
Rocky DijonQuote
TheGreek
Would it have killed the Stones to invite Chuck to join them on stage once in a blue moon ? No, and actually acknowledge the King of Rock and Roll Guitar !
The Stones did invite him to join them onstage for their 1997 Pay-per-View special from St. Louis. Doing so meant clearing home video and possible live album rights. They weren't able to come to terms financially as they had done with John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley previously.
When Chuck Berry passed away, Mick and Keith released statements. Courtesy of
http://timeisonourside.com/chron2017.html
(March 18, 2017):
Mick: I am so sad to hear of Chuck Berry's passing. I want to thank him for all the inspirational music he gave to us. He lit up our teenage years, and blew life into our dreams of being musicians and performers. His lyrics shone above others & threw a strange light on the American dream. Chuck you were amazing & your music is engraved inside us forever.
(March 24, 2017):
Keith: (Over the years, we've) deliberately tried not to “do a Chuck Berry,” so to speak. But on every one, Chuck’s influence is there, for sure. And I love the fact that he could vary his music. When you listen to [You] Never Can Tell, he had a handle, he was very interested in various kinds of music. He used country music....[and] he was a great admirer of Hank Williams. We used to sit around talking about country writers.
I look upon (his signatory guitar introductions) as sort of a clarion call, his way of saying, I’m here. That’s why those famous intros for Johnny B. Goode, Carol, and Little Queenie are sort of the same. It was almost his own personal monogram on the damn thing before he would start.
People try and pick out things that are similar. Like Jimmy Reed - you want to talk about a guy who played the same song and beautifully! It’s not that - it’s the variations on the theme that count. Also the effortless ease of that rhythm he could produce, which everybody else pumps away at. People don’t realize Chuck used his whole body to play that riff, he doesn’t just use his wrists. I’m still working on it.
Everything was syncopated and synchronized to his body movements. We all know the duck walk — that’s the famous one, and it’s a good one too. But if you look at old footage of him, playing in those times, those early movies, Jazz on a Summer’s Day, you see a sort of almost demonic power going on in that rhythm and his delivery of it. It always fascinated me.
There is a certain part of me that still has my Chuck Berry niche, especially on the rhythm end, more than anything. I’ve learned more and more from him over the years of how to sling the hash.
(April 9, 2017):
Keith: At the moment I sense the same feeling I had at 15 years old when Buddy Holly died. A sickening thud to the guts and a feeling of losing a member of the family. For me the world went from black to white to glorious Technicolor when I first heard Little Queenie. There was no doubt in my mind: It was obvious what I had to do and I haven’t changed since. The effortless ease with which he laid down the rhythm makes a mockery of countless grimacing lip biting agonizing imitators. I’m still working on it.
He brought joy to us; the feeling for a fifteen year old guitar player that there was more to life than seemed possible. With the exuberance, he brought a casual ease and a rhythm that makes bits of your body move you didn’t know you had. In essence, he was a revelation. I ain’t 15 no more but the joy remains.
agree here totally.Quote
Hairball
Shame on the them - maybe that's why Ronnie is releasing a tribute album.
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georgie48
The thing with Johnny Johnson is that he actually delivered essential musical parts to the songs, allowing Chuck to add (great!) lyrics. Lyrics as such don't neccesarily result into great (musical) songs. So Johnson/Berry (or Berry/Johnson) credits would have been nice (and decent) in cases.
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georgie48
The thing with Johnny Johnson is that he actually delivered essential musical parts to the songs, allowing Chuck to add (great!) lyrics. Lyrics as such don't neccesarily result into great (musical) songs. So Johnson/Berry (or Berry/Johnson) credits would have been nice (and decent) in cases.
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Rocky Dijon
I love Chuck Berry and wish they'd play more, but the thing is I always want to hear things that aren't the core songs from setlists for decades. We're at a point where that is a true rarity. "Around and Around" and the snippet of "Come On" were nice surprises a few years back.
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MKjan
It's my understanding after Chuck left The Johnny Johnson Trio,
Johnny J was basically tossed aside and forgotten by Chuck--until Hail Hail.
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Rocky DijonQuote
MKjan
It's my understanding after Chuck left The Johnny Johnson Trio,
Johnny J was basically tossed aside and forgotten by Chuck--until Hail Hail.
That's the way HAIL HAIL tells the story and it makes for a good movie. In truth, Johnnie is playing piano on the following Chuck Berry studio albums: AFTER SCHOOL SESSION (1957), ONE DOZEN BERRYS (1958), CHUCK BERRY IS ON TOP (1959), ROCKIN' AT THE HOPS (1960), NEW JUKE BOX HITS (1960), CHUCK BERRY TWIST (1962), CHUCK BERRY ON STAGE ("fake" live LP 1963), ST. LOUIS TO LIVERPOOL (1964), FRESH BERRY'S (1965), CHUCK BERRY'S GOLDEN HITS (re-recordings 1967), FROM ST. LOUIE TO FRISCO (1968), SAN FRANCISCO DUES (1971), and ROCKIT (1979) all before HAIL HAIL ROCK 'N' ROLL (1987).
The unappreciated forgotten genius reduced to being a bus driver is a great story. In truth, Johnnie even played shows in the 1980s with Chuck before the 60th Birthday concerts in 1986. Movies aren't reality and Keith is known for telling "pork pies" (as Mick called them using Cockney rhyming slang). He's a great storyteller, but they're still stories. Just ask Muddy when he comes down from painting the ceiling at Chess because he's not making any more gold records like he did in the 1950s.
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Rocky DijonQuote
TheGreek
Would it have killed the Stones to invite Chuck to join them on stage once in a blue moon ? No, and actually acknowledge the King of Rock and Roll Guitar !
The Stones did invite him to join them onstage for their 1997 Pay-per-View special from St. Louis. Doing so meant clearing home video and possible live album rights. They weren't able to come to terms financially as they had done with John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley previously.
When Chuck Berry passed away, Mick and Keith released statements. Courtesy of
http://timeisonourside.com/chron2017.html
(March 24, 2017):
Keith: (Over the years, we've) deliberately tried not to “do a Chuck Berry,” so to speak. But on every one, Chuck’s influence is there, for sure. And I love the fact that he could vary his music. When you listen to [You] Never Can Tell, he had a handle, he was very interested in various kinds of music. He used country music....[and] he was a great admirer of Hank Williams. We used to sit around talking about country writers.
I look upon (his signatory guitar introductions) as sort of a clarion call, his way of saying, I’m here. That’s why those famous intros for Johnny B. Goode, Carol, and Little Queenie are sort of the same. It was almost his own personal monogram on the damn thing before he would start.
People try and pick out things that are similar. Like Jimmy Reed - you want to talk about a guy who played the same song and beautifully! It’s not that - it’s the variations on the theme that count. Also the effortless ease of that rhythm he could produce, which everybody else pumps away at. People don’t realize Chuck used his whole body to play that riff, he doesn’t just use his wrists. I’m still working on it.
Everything was syncopated and synchronized to his body movements. We all know the duck walk — that’s the famous one, and it’s a good one too. But if you look at old footage of him, playing in those times, those early movies, Jazz on a Summer’s Day, you see a sort of almost demonic power going on in that rhythm and his delivery of it. It always fascinated me.
There is a certain part of me that still has my Chuck Berry niche, especially on the rhythm end, more than anything. I’ve learned more and more from him over the years of how to sling the hash.
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DandelionPowdermanQuote
georgie48
The thing with Johnny Johnson is that he actually delivered essential musical parts to the songs, allowing Chuck to add (great!) lyrics. Lyrics as such don't neccesarily result into great (musical) songs. So Johnson/Berry (or Berry/Johnson) credits would have been nice (and decent) in cases.
It's a difficult one, Georgie. No doubt Chuck let himself be inspired of licks from Johnnie, Louis Jordan etc. However, what he did with it was to create a template for his songs, musically. And none of these guys had the patent on 12 bar boogie. Those 12 bars (with THAT lick) became a vehicle for adding melodies and lyrics.
I don't know what would be right: Crediting Johnnie on every song, or simply some of the first songs?
Like I said, it's difficult