Rock and Roll Music

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Today’s song must be “Rock and Roll Music” since the one great rocker who turned me onto this music was Chuck Berry. He passed way on March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His music will live on to inspire other generations and I can just picture him rocking up there along the Milky Way. This American guitarist, singer, and songwriter is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music and his songs are electrifying and his videos great to view. Chuck Berry whose full name is Charles Edward Anderson came out with such great hits in the 50s as “Maybellene”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Rock and Roll Music”, and “Johnny B. Goode”. He performed in such a way which left a lasting impression and greatly influenced rock music. Chuck Berry’s big break came when he went to Chicago in May of 1955 and met up with Muddy Waters who suggested he contact Chess Records. As a result he recorded “Maybellene” which went on to sell over a million copies and rose up to number one on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart. Berry was a success and popular by the end of the 50s. He opened up his own nightclub in St. Louis, Missouri Berry’s Club Bandstand. In 1957 Berry performed in Alan Freed’s Biggest Show of Stars for 1957 along with other popular performers such as the Everly Brothers. Other singles which he scored with included “School Days” and “Sweet Little Sixteen”. He appeared in two rock and roll movies Rock, Rock, Rock in 1956 and as himself in Go, Johnny Go! in 1959. He performed “Sweet Little Sixteen” at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 and his performance was captured in the movie Jazz on a Summer’s Day. Trouble brewed in January of 1962 when Berry was sentenced to prison under the Mann Act for transporting a 14 year old girl across state lines. After he was released from prison Berry came out with more hits which included “No Particular Place to Go”, “You Can Never Tell”, and “Nadine”. However these songs didn’t have the same impact as those which he had recorded in the 50s. Berry had a successful tour of the U.K. in 1964 and upon returning performed at the Schaefer Music Festival in New York City in Central Park in July of 1969 and at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in October. In 1972 Berry came out with a live recording of a novelty song called “My Ding-a-Ling”. By the 70s Berry had become a nostalgic live performer. He was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his three greatest hits “Rock and Roll Music”, “Maybellene” and “Johnny B. Goode” are included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. How many Chuck Berry fans are out there? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Berry