{"id":5995,"date":"2010-12-09T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2010-12-09T05:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5995"},"modified":"2010-12-08T21:03:12","modified_gmt":"2010-12-09T02:03:12","slug":"gonzo%e2%80%99s-gems-%e2%80%9creelin%e2%80%99-rockin%e2%80%99-with-chuck-berry%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5995","title":{"rendered":"Gonzo\u2019s Gems: \u201cReelin\u2019 & Rockin\u2019 With Chuck Berry\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales<\/strong><\/p>\n

The year was 2002, I was working as a Security Screener at the airport. One night I was gently trying to convince a five year old girl to place her baby doll on the x-ray machine\u2019s conveyor belt. \u201cIt\u2019s okay, sweetheart,\u201d I told her, \u201cIf you put your baby on the conveyer belt, I promise you she\u2019ll come out the other side safe and happy.\u201d She wasn\u2019t budging, she maintained the tight grip on her doll and eyed the x-ray machine suspiciously. In the meantime, the mother was placing her items on the conveyor belt and fussing with her 6 month old baby. <\/p>\n

I almost had the little girl convinced to put her doll through the x-ray machine, when from the corner of my eye I caught sight of something odd. It was the baby in it\u2019s baby carrier disappearing into the x-ray machine! With cat-like ninja reflexes, I snatched the baby back from the jaws of the x-ray machine. I handed the baby back to the mother, saying \u201cNo, maam, not your baby, your daughter\u2019s baby doll.\u201c Very casually she replied, \u201cOh, I thought it was kinda funny that you were asking me to put my baby through the x-ray machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours later, still stunned by the baby in the x-ray machine incident, I was screening passengers that had set off the magnetometer. As I ran the security wand over one particular passenger, it dawned on me, it was the one and only Chuck Berry! I fought to maintain my composure while a Chuck Berry guitar riff began playing loudly in my head. Standing in front of me was one of my rock \u2018n\u2019 roll heroes, one of the founding fathers of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, Maybellene\u2019s and Johnny B. Goode\u2019s daddy, the man who told Beethoven to roll over and tell Tchaikovsky the news!<\/p>\n

Cool as a cucumber, I acknowledged I knew who he was by telling him I loved his music and that I was a huge fan of his. He gave me a small smile as he collected his items. And just like that, the day had gone from being \u201cthe day a child had almost been run through an x-ray machine\u201d to \u201cthe day I had a brush with rock \u2018n\u2019 roll greatness\u201c. As Chuck Berry walked away to his gate, his Cajun-tinged song, \u201cYou Never Can Tell\u201d began playing in my head. \u201cC\u2019est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show, you never can tell\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chuck Berry was born Charles Edward Anderson Berry on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. As a young man, Chuck Berry developed a passion for poetry and blues and learned to play the guitar very well. So well, in fact, that by the age of 28 he had managed to take over the Johnny Johnson Combo and make it his very own Chuck Berry Trio. When asked about his guitar style, Chuck claims modestly his guitar style was a mix of T-Bone Walker, Carl Hogan and Charlie Christian.<\/p>\n

One thing Chuck realized early on was that Black audiences liked a wide variety of music and he went about trying to reproduce as much popular music as possible. He recorded a demo tape and presented it to Leonard Chess who liked one song in particular, a \u201chillbilly\u201d tune named \u201cIda Red\u201d. The title was changed to \u201cMaybellene\u201d, rerecorded and released in July 1955. \u201cMaybellene\u201d skyrocketed up the charts and the rest is rock \u2019n\u2019 roll history. In retrospect, you can see the huge influence of that song. I invite you to listen to the impressive 24-bar solo in the middle of the song. Fantastic!<\/p>\n

The Chuck Berry hits started coming at a mind-boggling pace over the next few years. To say that Chuck Berry\u2019s musical output in the ensuing years as a recording artist was productive is an understatement. In the short span of three years, Chuck Berry recorded his biggest hits and most influential music. A majority of these songs were on the fast road to becoming all-time rock \u2019n\u2019 roll classics, rock \u2018n\u2019 roll blueprints for many generations of rock \u2018n\u2018 rollers waiting on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

The following songs are just some of the songs Chuck created during this very creative timeframe: \u201cBrown Eyed Handsome Man\u201d, \u201cToo Much Monkey Business\u201d, \u201cSchool Days\u201d, \u201cSweet Little Sixteen\u201d, \u201cRock And Roll Music\u201d, \u201cGuitar Boogie\u201d, \u201cRoll Over Beethoven\u201d, \u201cJohnny B. Goode\u201d, \u201cCarol\u201d, \u201cMemphis, Tennessee\u201d and \u201cBack In The U.S.A.\u201d. All Gems! But my all time favorite Chuck Berry song was the Gem, \u201cJohnny B. Goode\u201d. So much so, that I painstaking learned to play it on guitar using a Hal Leonard guitar instruction book. \u201cGo, Gonzo, Go\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Amidst legal problems that would have Chuck Berry serving time in federal prison for offenses under the Mann Act, he continued recording and releasing music in the first part of the 60s. The standouts were, \u201cLet It Rock\u201d, \u201cBye Bye Johnny\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Talking About You\u201d. And as Chuck served his time, his momentum continued with The Beatles, Rolling Stones and a host of other English bands covering his music. Take a gander at early Rolling Stone albums and you\u2019ll see it looks like a Chuck Berry song list. British teenagers were discovering his songs and making them hits all over again.<\/p>\n

Released from prison in 1963, Chuck returned with a batch of hits he had penned in prison. One of the first songs recorded was another one of my all time favorite Chuck Berry tunes, the Gem, \u201cNadine (Is That You)\u201d. I love\u2018s Chuck\u2019s wordplay and the imagery the lyrics paint, \u201cAs I got on a city bus and found a vacant seat, I thought I saw my future bride walking up the street, I shouted to the driver, \u201cHey, conductor, you must slow down, I think I see her, please let me off the bus\u201d. Nadine, honey, is that you?\u2026\u201d The remainder of the hits were \u201cNo Particular Place To Go\u201d, Promised Land\u201d, \u201cYou Never Can Tell\u201d, \u201cI Want To Be Your Driver\u201d and \u201cTulane\u201d.<\/p>\n

Though the hits were not as plentiful as in the 50s and 60s, Chuck Berry did an admirable job changing with the times as he continued touring and presenting his brand of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll into the 70s. His last two hits to chart were the 1972 live recordings of \u201cMy Ding-A-Ling\u201d and \u201cReelin\u2019 & Rockin\u2019\u201d which appeared on \u201cThe London Chuck Berry Sessions\u201c album. \u201cMy Ding-A-Ling\u201c was a double-entendre novelty song and \u201cReelin\u2018 And Rockin\u2019\u201d was a reworking of his 14 year old song, only a lot racier. If you are lucky enough to find a copy of \u201cLondon Chuck Berry Sessions\u201c, buy it immediately and without hesitation. The price alone is worth hearing the instrumental Gem, \u201cLondon Berry Blues\u201d. The song incorporates all of Chuck Berry\u2019s riffs and licks in grand style.<\/p>\n

I remember visiting family in New Mexico in 1978 and going to watch \u201cAmerican Hot Wax\u201d at the small theater in town with my brother Gilbert and my cousin Danny. The movie was a biopic about fame rock \u2019n\u2019 roll disc jockey Alan Freed. The film had Chuck Berry appearing as himself during the concert portion of the film. I remember my brother and I being impressed by the energy of his performance and his showmanlike flair as he \u201cduck walked\u201d across the stage while playing his Gibson. We left the theater singing, \u201cReelin\u2019 And Rockin\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

Just last month, I stumbled across a very rare copy of Chuck\u2019s \u201cRock It\u201d CD at a used CD store. \u201cRock It\u201d was originally released in 1979 on Atco Records and it was Chuck Berry\u2019s last studio release. Talk about a rare find! I had only seen a very bad copy of it in LP form at a yard sale many years back – the cover was faded and weather worn and the album warped. So, I purchased the CD and popped it into my car\u2019s CD player for my drive home. I was pleasantly surprised. It had all the classic Chuck Berry riffs, solos and brilliant wordplay. The standout cuts were \u201cMove It\u201d and \u201cWudent Me\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 1986, a year after being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Chuck published, \u201cChuck Berry: The Autobiography\u201d. The following year, he filmed \u201cHail! Hail! Rock \u2019n\u2019 Roll\u201d. The first half of the film serves as a rock documentary and the second half presents a live concert celebrating Chuck\u2019s 60th birthday with special guests, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James and Julian Lennon. There\u2019s an edge, a tension to documentary as we witness standoffs between headstrong Chuck and musical director Keith Richards.<\/p>\n

This year, at the age of 83, Chuck Berry played Las Vegas at the Viva Las Vegas 13 Rockabilly Festival at the Orleans Hotel. Opening up with \u201cRoll Over Beethoven\u201d, the living legend then ran through his rock classics, stopping long enough for a breather and poking fun at his age. \u201cI\u2019ve got 270 songs I wrote myself and I can\u2019t think of one of them. Anybody know any Chuck Berry hits?\u201d With his hit songs about fast automobiles, young love and raucous music, his influence on rock \u2018n\u2018 roll has been immense.<\/p>\n

Chuck Berry is probably the most important artist in helping to define early rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. He was a triple threat: the best songwriter, best guitarist and best performer. Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Dion, Bob Seger and countless others have recorded his songs. \u201cAll of Chuck\u2019s children are out there playing his licks.\u201d says Bob Seger. He has been referred to as \u201cthe poet laureate of rock and the Shakespeare of roll\u201d. Jerry Lee Lewis\u2019 mama even had a say in the matter. \u201cYou and Elvis are pretty good, but you\u2019re no Chuck Berry.\u201d I second John Lennon\u2019s sentiment\u2026 \u201cDon\u2019t give me any sophisticated crap, give me Chuck Berry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(DVD) \u201cChuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock \u2019n\u2019 Roll\u201d (1987)
\n(CDs) The Great Twenty-Eight (1982) and Chuck Berry: The Anthology (2000)
\n(Songs) Maybellene, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Too Much Monkey Business, School Days, Sweet Little Sixteen, Rock And Roll Music, Guitar Boogie, Roll Over Beethoven, Johnny B. Goode, Carol, Memphis Tennessee, Back In The U.S.A., Let It Rock, Nadine (Is That You), No Particular Place To Go, You Never Can Tell, I Want To Be Your Driver, Tulane, and London Berry Blues <\/strong><\/p>\n

[youtube 45V1Q_C2Wpc ]<\/p>\n

To Send \u201cGonzo\u201d A Suggestion For An Article On Your Favorite Musician or Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales The year was 2002, I was working as a Security Screener at the airport. One night I was gently trying to convince a five year old girl to place her baby doll on the x-ray machine\u2019s conveyor belt. \u201cIt\u2019s okay, sweetheart,\u201d I told her, \u201cIf you put your baby on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2167,1283,2169,2168,2120],"class_list":["post-5995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-chuck-berry","tag-john-lennon","tag-johnny-b-goode","tag-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame","tag-the-beatles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5995"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}