While he’s considered one of the architects of Rock And Roll, we blues lovers all know that Chuck Berry was a force of nature that took the blues to places no one dreamed it would go.
We lost Berry on Saturday, March 18th, he was 90 years old.
So today I wanted to pay a little tribute and have a listening party in his honor.
Might as well start with good ole’ Johnny…
And while Chuck Berry wasn’t necessarily known as a blues player, check this out:
One of Chuck Berry’s most famous disciples is none other than Keith Richards, so here they are together.
Thanks for the great music, Chuck, we’ll miss you 🙁
71 replies to "RIP Chuck Berry"
just loved it , play his music a lot. will miss him. thank you grif.
saw on the forum yesterday that griff had the chuck berry intro for johnny B goode note for note in the extras section. looked again today and couldn’t find the same place. does such a thing exist and what must i do to get a copy of it?
it was an older message (maybe 2015) somewhere on the forum. also how will i be able to find any response to this question on the forum?
Thanks for putting this together.
Thanks for taking the time for this Griff, really appreciate it. To be a bit cheeky, how about a lesson from you on Chuck style riffs?
he was a great show man R.I.P. Chuck Berry
Have you ever shared any of Chuck Berry’s riffs?
The true father of R&R. Pure genius, pre civil rights movement rebel. John Lennon adored (for a funny look look for a segment of a talk show 70’s where John Lennon very sweetly invited Chuck to cook with him and Chuck kinda cautiously joined in. Also after JL’s death, Chuck Berry invited Julian Lennon to perform on a tv show Chuck Berry was hosting mentioning that Julian’s father was a dear friend. Our music would not sound the way it does without Chuck Berry. A true genius not given his due (because of our appropriation of African American music without proper attribution – or compensation – by the music industry (thus Bonnie Raitt formed the Rhythm & Blues Foundation). Rock on Mr. Berry forever in our hearts.
Thanks for sharing! Yes, he was a very big influence along with BBKing, both of which will be greatly missed!
Some great videos…thanks
We saw Chuck Berry times over the years when he visited the UK. The man was a genius; he just showed the way it should be done. And now he is in the promise land – thanks for the music.
Saw a true entertainer…
still play his music
Thanks, Griff. and “Thanks for the Memories Chuck”. Was never without his records, Cassettes, CD,s, DVD,s since 1958. His music has been with me from Barrow, Alaska to St Croix, USVI and all the stops in between.
Len
Yeah I heard yesterday about good old chuck, back in the early day’s with BBKing I’ve started loving the Blues and the Rocking Blues with them boths, but at lease I can play some of their music and licks, but thank’s to you Griff without me knowing some of the Riff’s in your lesson it would’nt be posible,so thank’s for those memory’s.
Chuck Berry is the father of rock and roll. His music will live on a great musian.
I think I saw almost every concert that Chuck ever played in the UK, from the Rock’n’roll Allstars at Wembley stadium (alongside people like Bill Haley and Jerry Lee Lewis) to the Lakefield Country Club. Once, at the Hammersmith Odeon, he was preceded by The Swingin’ Blue Jeans, who started to play their ‘hit’. When the noise of the crowd got too loud, they stopped, and played a Chuck Berry song – which probably saved their lives.
Farewell Chuck, say Hi to Buddy Holly and the other guys.
What aspiring guitar player wouldn’t instantly recognize the opening riff to Johnnie B Goode and practice ’till their fingers hurt trying to duplicate the sound and timing? Chuck may be gone but his music will live on by itself and through the countless musicians he inspired. RIP Chuck. Rock on wherever you are.
Heavin’s a rockin now!
R.I.P. Chuck Berry Creator of Rock n Roll
We screamed it out our cars
Drivin Austin Highway
We heard Jhonny B Good
And knew Rock n Roll
Was here to stay
We beat on our dash boards
We jumped up and down
Yeah freedom was ringin
There was a new sound
In Town
Yeah Thank you chuck
Thanks for the licks
It’s still Nadine
If you want to get your kicks
Neils
6:19 pm
04/09/2017
People tend to think the world was invented in the past five years, but the first video clearly shows it was not.
Ups and downs for CB, certainly, but a life well lived.
Live long and prosper.
What an entertainer…and an actor…
When listening to Chuck it made one either dance or pick up the guitar and play….one of the best, if not the best. Regardless he brought the Blues to Rock-n-Roll…. Griff – a challenge, can you quickly put together a lesson on “roll over Beethoven”? thanks!!!
If he had been white he would have been bigger than ELVIS.
John Lennon said, “If you had to give rock & roll another name, you could call it Chuck Berry”.
Chuck was the best.🤙
I have seen Chuck many times in the basement of Blueberry Hill here in St. Louis . He played there about once each month, and everyone was within 50 to 100 feet from the stage area. Chuck always was accessible and signed my first Mel Bay guitar instruction book. Mel Bay had a small music store here in the small town of Kirkwood, Missouri where I have lived for the last 40 years , where you could walk in and meet Mel behind the counter. These great music people were all “real people” and so “accessible” for there fans! Here’s to Mr. Rock and Roll ! RIP !
I’ve could’nt have said’ed any other way Bill. That had to be a great place to go and meet the star’s and players,thank’s for sharing.
I think it was Bob Seger who wrote ” all of Chuck’s children are out there playing his licks, come back baby rock ‘n’ roll never forgets ” thanks Chuck
LOVE his voice and guitar, a real hero, he had the crowd chanting Peace at the Montreal peace concert, God Bless You and your family and friends and thanks for the video s
Thanks Griff. I am lucky to have seen Chuck twice live in the 50s. All things considered he was probably the best. Brian Burke
Think of all of the music we might not have if…….
Thanx Chuck!
Griff:
Thanks for these memories.
Watching this has inspired me to try to learn the intro for Johnny B. Goode. I’ve been working on it for almost two hours and now have it down, albeit slowly and with lots of errors. I’m getting a little faster and more accurate as I practice it. Maybe by the end of the day….
What’s important is that I don’t think that I could have gotten even here without your February Triplet Challenge. That not only gave me tools to work on this, but also the confidence that I might be able to do it.
Thanks, a lot.
I remember writing out the lyrics to a whole bunch of his songs when I was about 15… way before I ever got a guitar – no money down, nadine, no particular place to go, too much monkey business, (I heard that from the yardbirds first) just to read the words, the man was a poet as well as the first rock front man as both Mick Jagger & Robert Plant acknowledged, killer guitar to boot, Let it Rock.
It seems that all of our great performers are passing on to the great beyond. There will never be another one like Chuck Berry again. He was sublime. Thank you Griff for putting this tribute through for Chuck Berry. He will always be remembered.
Chuck Berry was a great song writer and performer in his time and he will be missed very much by everyone and all of his fans.
Bye bye……….
I love Keith Richard’s comment when he induced Chuck into the Hall of Fame. “I lifted every lick he ever played.”
Johnny B. Sad….
I love his Style…..
Man I love his Style…..
IM IN MY 70’S AND I HAVE LOVED ROCK N ROLL FROM THE FIRST TIME I HEARD IT, I HAVE HEARD THEM ALL AND NO ONE WAS BETTER THAN CHUCK BERRY. HE DEFINATELY LED THE WAY
His spirit is woven throughout the fabric of Rock and Roll… forever.
I saw him live, in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, UK, in the 1970’s , in the Victorian town Hall (saw BB King there, too !) wow, he was a chicken then . Great show, folks rocking in the aisle. But he stayed on stage for 40 minutes or more after, signing autographs for the fans. Times Change, but nothing will change, or equal, his creative genius. Long Live Rock n Roll !!
He was a great writer and performer but he did play out of tune a bit!!!!
We’ll forgive him that for all the great songs he left us!
Saw him at the Fillmore East a few times-always a Rockin good show.so sad to lose him but glad he was with us for so long will miss his spirit RIP
Privileged to have seen him live – 1986 1988 1990 n on several tribute tv events
My favorite place is obscure 1959 lp recorded in London released on chess – had a great blues instrumental james
Thanks for bringing us together, Chuck 💝
A muerto una leyenda del rock. Todo el Mundo esta de luto.
Que en Paz descance el gran Chuck Berry.
Fantastic writer and performer.
He inspired my generation of musicians.
Will be sadly missed
What a great man, a great musician, and a great loss….I still wish I can play like he did. RIP
If there’s a Rock and roll heaven, then you know they got a hell of a band. RIP.
I only got to see him once,in Rochester,he never wanted to stop playing,even when the venue turned the lights on he just kept playing,it is a show I’ll never forget and that was 45 years ago
In 1969 I went to Chicago to see the Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry was the opening act. That was a truly great concert.
Not only was Chuck a great song writer, storyteller, but he was a fantastic comedian, entertainer, with the greatest smile anyone has ever seen. We’ll miss you dearly Chuck
Thanks Griff for sharing these events with us..
Chuck Berry is a Legend of Rock n Roll and also Blues, many of his songs were covered by our stars such as the Rolling Stones and Beatles and many more the list is countless.. I remember during the 60’s I was a drummer in a few bands and we played a lot of Chuck Berry songs, now 50 years on I am now learning Blues guitar and Johnny B Goode as well as some of his other great songs.
To top it off I have a Cherry Red 335 dot Epiphone similar to his Gibson..
He is an awesome musical legend who will never be forgotten.
RIP Chuck Berry you will be missed but never forgotten by your musician friends at all levels worldwide..
Michael-Sydney-Australia 20th March 2017.
Rock & Roll will never die.As people of faith we all must remember,that even Jesus cried at his friends death,and that grief is the price that we must pay for love!God speed & thank YOU,Chuck.
when i first startes playing the blues it was JBG . HAVE TO MENTION THAT ITS ALL PART OF A PLAN WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.
We have lost so many recently and I miss them . I borrowed a Gibson Sg 1959 . its Priceless now . A marshall amp and a gibson is classic .
Chuck started the fire that will forever burn!!!
Go Johnny Go!!!!
I had the Priviledge of seeing Chuck @ a small club in Northglen, co, when I was about 20 yrs. old. He got the fcrowd so EXCITED.. we had him back up onto his amps! That video of all those SE
date folks being roused by chuck in your 2nd video, shows the POWER & LOVE he had…..Peace&Love…IT’S ALL A >>>>>
A really bad day for music considering that we lost not only Chuck but James Cotton as well
I grew up on this music … finally got to see the man at Wembley, London in 1972. He made his entrance in total darkness with just a spotlight on his white shoes as he duck-walked the length of the stage ….. if the stadium had a roof it would have lifeted off; and it just got better and better.
Griff , in 1964 , I was going to Pasadena City College , and my friends and I went to see Chuck Berry at the Santa Monica Civic . It was a packed house of course , and we went wild . What a great entertainer . By the way , it was $2.00 to get in !! Griff , thanks for putting this tribute together for us . He will always be remembered as Rock and Roll royalty . Thanks again Griff . Mike Z.
His music accompanied me since more than 50 years and I love it still. Have fun on your cloud, Chuck.
Very Sad to loose Chuck Berry, he took the blues and sped it up and laid down the template for Rock and Roll guitarist to follow. Anybody that plays rock and roll guitar at sometime in their early years learns some version of Johnny B Goode, it’s a staple of guitar players. He was the King of
Pinky Rhythm.
Not just a great and spirit lifting musician, but a great entertainer as well!
One of the seminal artists of his era. Rock ‘n’ Roll would have happened without him, but it would not have been the same. Great music – to be celebrated!
Thank you Griff. The man deserves the highest of tributes.
Thanks chuck for all the entertainment you have shared with the World, and may your soul rest in peace. God bless you! !
One of the best,now he’s in the safest place-in God’s memory.
Look forward to seeing him again in great shape here on earth.
A massive thank you Griff. A really sad day.
The day the music died?