Chuck Berry and Chuck Barris
And while it may seem that these two Chucks appear unrelated, one of them very influential in the development of a genre that spans decades, and the other more known for zany game shows, there is sort of a connection between the two.
As you may know, we lost a rock icon, Chuck Berry last week at the age of 91. While we tend to worship rock stars that prematurely pass, such as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and all of the "27 Club", we tend to take for granted those who don't pass until their eighties or nineties. Although not a "rock star", for example, did we celebrate Frank Sinatra's passing the way we did, say, David Bowie. Tony Bennett, a contemporary of the Chairman of the Board is still going strong and actually in a sense, still relevant, that will remain to be seen.
But back to Chuck. While we call Elvis "The King", it was really Berry that was able to create his kingdom. While Elvis was, for a couple of years, creating the rockabilly sound, by the time he took pop music by storm, he was more "refined" and presented in a more sedate manner. But Chuck had the rawness in him, and he was the prime architect of what became "rock and roll". It was 1955 that Berry had his first hit, "Maybelline", a few months before the masses even heard of Elvis.
Another testament to Berry is that his songs---which he wrote, by the way, unlike Elvis, stand the test of time and are oft covered. For example, 'Roll Over Beethoven", a top 30 hit in early 1956 has been covered by everyone from The Beatles (a band that takes its influences from early rockers like Berry), to Mountain and Electric Light Orchestra. "School Day", his biggest hit (at least until 1972) extols the joys of spending the day learning and socializing, a definitive message to the new rock generation of kids, who now have their own "music". Another, "Rock and Roll Music" is another rock standard, also covered by The Beatles, and a "comeback" hit by The Beach Boys as well.
More hits followed: "Sweet Little Sixteen", which again was covered--with new lyrics--- as "Surfin' USA" by the Beach Boys, and "Johnny B. Goode". By then, Elvis, as well as other pioneers like Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly, were popular and rock caught on with the younger generation. But then came 1959.
Of course, that was when the "music died", when a plane crash took the lives of Holly, young upstart Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. Elivs was in the army, and Chuck got into some trouble as well: He was arrested after we was accused of having sexual relations with a fourteen year old girl who he illegally transported across state lines. And although the was initially acquitted, mainly due to racist comments made by the judge of the case, he was tried again two years later, and convicted. He was assigned a three year sentence that was eventually reduced to a year and a half. Although he still recorded, the hits were fewer and far between, and by 1962, he stopped recording for two years.
It was late 1963 when he finally was released from prison and didn't start recording until 1964. And thus created another problem.
It was Beatlemania and the Fab Four, along with other British bands, invaded the charts, with pretty much the same music that Berry created, and wiped just about anything that was popular off to the wayside. But, talk about swimming against the tide. Berry persevered, racking up three big hits in '64, including "Nadine", "No Particular Place to Go" (a reworking of "School Day") and "You Never Can Tell", quite an accomplishment as even Elvis couldn't hit the top ten that year.
But, after a few minor chart entries into 1965, Berry would be gone from the charts, replaced by the budding folk rock movement, along with garage rock, Motown, and new American and British pop combos. By the end of the decade, Berry was relegated to the "oldies" circuit. But that would turn into one last hurrah.
In the last half of the sixties, rock music changed and evolved so much as the sounds from the beginning of the decade, and the fifties seemed like a long time ago. However, those who grew up to the early rock hits, were pretty much alienated by acid rock, psychedelia, and jam bands. "Rock and Roll Revival" shows started popping up, with the stars from that bygone era given a second career performing their hits. And even a new band, Sha Na Na, played music that covered that period, along with new songs in that same style. In perhaps what seemed out of place, that band performed at Woodstock, of all places. Elvis made his famed comeback that year, garnering a #1 with "Suspicious Minds". The revival shows enabled Berry to perform once more, even though the hits stopped coming.
The London Chuck Berry Sessions, a live album, was released in 1972, but a miracle happened. Nostalgia for the 1950's and the "golden age of rock 'n' roll" resurfaced. Movies about the fifties and early sixties like American Graffiti surfaced. Grease was a hit on Broadway, and "Happy Days" a hit on the small screen And in the fall of 1972, three greats from the early era had hits: Rick Nelson made a brief comeback with "Garden Party" (a song, coincidentally about his frustration of performing new music at a rock and roll oldies show with the crowd preferring his classic hits), Elvis Presley, with a #2 with Burning Love, his final top ten, and Chuck Berry, reaching #1 for the only time in his career. The song? "My Ding-a Ling".
That song was a reworking of another song he recorded and wrote, just substituting the sexual double-entendre "ding-a-ling" and taking the live recording to the top. While it was satisfying that he had a big hit, many lamented that he had to do it with this song. New York Top 40 WABC played the song once and banned it from the airwaves, even as crosstown WWDJ put it at the #1 spot for several weeks.
Berry followed it up with a live rendition of "Reelin' and Rockin", which became his final top 40 hit. Since then, he has been renowned as the founder of rock 'n' roll, and performed right up to his final years. When he turned 50, it was then unusual to still be playing rock music, but even during his advanced ages, he proved that you're never too old to rock and roll. He was in the first group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has become well respected as the true founder of the genre. John Lennon probably said it best, that if rock and roll could have another name, it would probably be called "Chuck Berry".
Ain't that the truth.
CONFESSIONS OF A GONG SHOW HOST: Just a few days after Berry's passing, we lost another Chuck B, Chuck Barris. To many, he was pretty much the host of the zany Gong Show, which featured "talent" performing before celebrity judges (a precursor of sorts to "American Idol", although more considered a "parody" of earlier talent shows) of sorts, with decidedly untalented performers getting "gonged" off the stage. It evolved into a rather free for all sort of show. The host, Barris, was a bit nervous on the stage as he'd always clap his hands and look to the side camera when he was talking. But, his mannerisms became legendary.
That's because he was always a behind the scenes kind of guy. It was he who created both The Dating Game and Newlywed Game, as well as a few other shows. You may be wondering what he has got to do with music. A lot actually. He worked behind the scene for Dick Clark's legendary American Bandstand. He also wrote a few hits, most notable "Palisades Park", a #3 hit for Freddy Cannon in 1962.
He was also noted for his book "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", which was made into a George Cooney-directed movie in 2002. It was about his involvement in the CIA. Barris, who battle lung cancer in the 1980's, died of natural causes, he was 87.
CURRENT: A fifth week at the top for Rihanna's "Love on the Brain", while Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" closes the gap, holding at #2. The big new entry in the top 20 is an album cut by Fitz and the Tantrums, "Get Right Back", their sixteenth straight song to make it into the top 20. Some things never change. Tennis also garners their third straight top 20 with "Ladies Don't Play Guitar".
Sam Roberts Band follows their #2 "If You Want It", with the Top Debut, "Fiend". The Orwells, Band of Horses and Arcade Fire return after long absences. New to SNS are Middle Kids, a trio from Australia; LP, the stage name of Laura Pergolizzi, from Long Island, and...believe it or not, Justin Timberlake, who squeaks in at #99 with "Can't Stop the Feeling". I've always been a fan of Timberlake; he is an easy going person who doesn't take himself too seriously. I'm just not a fan of his music, more his acting. But this song, a hit last fall for him was so infectious that I am adding this.
THE FUTURE: You may have seen some of my comments on prior blog posts about me putting this to an end. This was going to be my final blog until the news that Chuck Berry had died, which merited a blog about this rock pioneer. Although I am a fan of current music (at least that which I seek out, and the few songs I do post get a bunch of likes), I will be ending the descriptive portion of the blog. There is one more topic I want to discuss next week: The proliferation of streaming music, and then a recap of the last seven years. I will have more on this next time.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
March 19 and 26, 2017
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Love On the
Brain"
Album: Anti
(5 weeks at #1)
|
10 |
| 2 | 2 | Ed Sheeran - Shape of You | 7 |
| 3 | 5 | Foxygen - Follow the Leader | 7 |
| 4 | 3 | Capital Cities - Vowels | 15 |
| 5 | 6 | Cage the Elephant - Cold Cold Cold | 5 |
| 6 | 9 | The Palms - Push Off | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | The Knocks and Matthew Koma - I Wish (My Taylor Swift) | 14 |
| 8 | 4 | Phoebe Ryan - Boyz n Poizn | 13 |
| 9 | 10 | Christina Taylor - Don't Look Good in Your T-Shirt Anymore | 6 |
| 10 | 16 | Coin - I Don't Wanna Dance | 5 |
| 11 | 11 | Billy Spanton Band - Faith (Hands on Me) | 7 |
| 12 | 14 | The Hounds of Winter - Lesson Learned | 6 |
| 13 | 18 | Lolo - Not Gonna Let You Walk Away | 5 |
| 14 | 13 | Saint Motel - Move | 8 |
| 15 | 7 | Wild Belle - Our Love Will Survive● | 17 |
| 16 | 12 | Michael Kiwanuka - One More Night● | 23 |
| 17 | 38 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Get Right Back"
Album: Fitz and the Tantrums
|
3 |
| 18 | 25 | Tennis - Ladies Don't Play Guitar | 5 |
| 19 | 15 | Jake Owen - If He Ain't Gonna Love You● | 19 |
| 20 | 24 | The Knocks f. Phoebe Ryan - Purple Eyes | 9 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod. 