The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
From Esquire (h/t Ben Domenech's The Transom) comes this terrific profile of legendary guitarist and songwriter Chuck Berry. That he's still with us is amazing. That he's still performing is perhaps just shy of miraculous. Key quote:
Watching Chuck Berry play here tonight is a little like watching Einstein if Einstein had decided to spend his last years in a makeshift replica of his old patent office, retranscribing the theories of his youth.
Here's what happened to Einstein after his ideas changed everything: He became the most famous and lauded man in the world. He became close friends with presidents and movie stars but was something more than a peer to them. His most essential work was done before the age of thirty, but that didn't really matter. He was offered the presidency of Israel but turned it down. He became a sort of secular pope and retained that privileged and almost universally admired position until he died.
Here's what happened to Chuck Berry after his ideas changed everything: He became famous, yes. He became a famous black man, touring around Mississippi and Alabama and Texas in the 1950s, playing concerts to theaters full of screaming white teenage girls. Is it any surprise what happened next?
What happened next is of course a familiar story. But Chuck Berry came of age at a time when record companies tightly controlled access to technology and by extension, audiences. If he were coming up today and co-inventing an entirely new genre of music that would change everything, his story might have a very different and much happier ending. Thanks, Internet.
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Apr '11
Re: The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
I had the privilege of seeing Mr. Berry roughly 30 years ago. Was it like watching a maestro in action, a master toreador in the ring, Jordan in his prime, Montana to Clark for the win. It was watching a master of his craft fulfilling his life, doing what he loved more than anything. Phenomenal, exceptional, beautiful, and delicious.
Without Mr. Berry would we have Clapton, Hendrix, Van Halen, Slash, Gibbons......the list goes on and on.
Thank you Mr. Berry for your music..................It's always been much more........
May '10
Re: The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
The only words that can do justice to the greatness of Chuck Berry are his own; the great songs he has written.
Last time I saw Marie she was waving me goodbye
with hurry-home-drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only 6 years old so information please
try to put me through to her in Memphis Tennessee.
If that don't tear your heart out you can hardly be human. Go, Johnny go; Johnny B. Goode.
Dec '11
Re: The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
I have long maintained that the world really only needs two works of music: Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Johnny. B. Goode.
Mar '11
Re: The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
Check out his autobiography, titled simply: Chuck Berry. For those of us who have ever played guitar in a rock band, we have all passed through Chuck's licks on our paths to would-be (or realized) glory.
All of Chuck's children are playin' his licks.--Bob Seger (Rock and Roll Never Forgets)
Mar '11
Re: The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
Kervinlee: The only words that can do justice to the greatness of Chuck Berry are his own; the great songs he has written.
Last time I saw Marie she was waving me goodbye
with hurry-home-drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only 6 years old so information please
try to put me through to her in Memphis Tennessee.
If that don't tear your heart out you can hardly be human. Go, Johnny go; Johnny B. Goode. · Dec 23 at 3:13pm
Absolutely! Chuck could write. Easily one of the better lyricists of any generation.
Edited on Dec 23, 2011 at 4:52pmAug '10
Re: The Einstein Of Rock and Roll
Like ringing a bell .....