I saw Chuck Berry
perform during his 1975 Australia Tour, where he played favourites, such as
Rollover Beethoven; Johnny B. Goode; and No Particular Place to Go. It was not
in a concert hall, but in a small intimate restaurant/nightclub – an unforgettable
experience.
American guitarist
and singer Chuck Berry, born Charles Edward Anderson Berry (1926-2017), died
yesterday, 18 March 2017, at his home in St. Charles, near St. Louis, Missouri,
in aged 90.
He had a degree in
hairdressing and cosmetology and worked briefly as a beautician, before
marrying Themetta Suggs in 1948. They had four children.
He started in the
music business in 1955. His rock ’n’ roll music was about cars, girls, teenagers,
love, fun, and music, combining country, hillbilly, blues and rock genres – which
was described as ‘reckless and audacious.’ Johnny B. Goode topped the music
charts in 1958. In 1972, Berry had the biggest hit of his career with My
Ding-a-Ling.
He never won a Grammy
Award, but the Recording Academy gave him a lifetime achievement award in 1984.
He was in the first group of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1986. He continued playing throughout his life. From 1996 to 2014, Berry
performed once a month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant in St. Louis.
He made a surprise
announcement on his 90th birthday, on 18 October 2016, that he was planning to
release his first studio album in almost 40 years. The album – called “Chuck” –
was scheduled for release in June 2017.
MARTINA
NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and
the author of:- The Shortness of
Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet
(2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Comments
Post a Comment