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John Lennon once said if you tried to give rock ‘n’ roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.
RIP Chuck Berry 1926-2017
Jack Shalom
Musings, Memories, and Magic
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John Lennon once said if you tried to give rock ‘n’ roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.
RIP Chuck Berry 1926-2017
I think that he was a sad case, though. We have a documentary on him and his life done in the late 1990s, maybe. He seemed like a very unhappy guy carrying a lot of grudges from the various comments he made to the interviewer throughout the thing. A lot of his grudges had to do with the advantages whites have–racism–and terrible Jim Crow-type experiences. He had obviously had a very rough time. He was extremely thin and obviously had false teeth. One time he was performing at what looked like a rural country fair to a very small audience. The country fair circuit is not what you would call a real premium gig. He always traveled with only his guitar and depended on local back-up bands to keep his expenses down. He should have been able to retire by the time he was that old. He was obviously working very hard and was sweating a lot. He was singing the same songs that had made him famous back in the 50s and 60s.
I think he had a very troubled life overall.
Just my take on things…
mar