Saturday, July 27. 2019CBID - Further entries to the Berry discographies for UK, NL, Spain and more
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: still we discover releases which were missing from the book, including some from well-documented countries. UK CHUCK BERRYâS GREATEST HITS See page 176 for info. Same tracks as the mono LP but in electronic stereo. STEREO MALS is stamped in red letters on the back cover. Â You will find the labels with the printing Stereophonic or without. Both have MALS 660 printed on the labels. NETHERLANDS Nadine / Come On Here we have three different variants. The Chuck Berry Song Series was a series of 45s going way up to #17. This one pictured had an orange Funckler label with some variations in printing. However, you might find it with a black label although I have never seen one. The other two images show two different (earlier) releases having colour tops, blue and purple. One with orange and one with black Funckler label, the latter being the first issue. Although we have no info what came first, the hen or the egg. NEW ZEALAND ST. LOUIS TO LIVERPOOL This is the mono variant. Donât know if the stereo one was released. PHILIPPINES You Never Can Tell / Brenda Lee Multicolor label. The sound here is pretty poor. According to Thierry Chanu it seems like master (the tape machine) might have fluctuated. SPAIN ROCKINâ AT THE HOPS Same as the UK reissue Charly (Green Line) LP GCH-8041 (1986). NEW JUKE BOX HITS Same as the UK reissue Charly (Green Line) LP GCH-8008 (1986). BERRY IS ON TOP Same as the UK reissue Charly (Green Line) LP GCH-8043 (1986). TAIWAN CHUCK BERRYâS GOLDEN DECADE VOL. 2 [2-LP] Same as US LP 2CH-60023, but it seems as this was a single LP cover, no fold-out. And the back cover is in black & white, no colours. Tuesday, July 23. 2019CBID - more by Johnnie Johnson and Keith Richards
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: An addition to chapter 18 in Volume 2. This chapter covers the session work and records by Chuck Berry's main musical partner Johnnie Johnson, recorded in addition to his work with Berry. SESSION WORK and GUEST APPEARANCES Keith Richards TALK IS CHEAP (30th Anniversary De-luxe edition) 2-CD: BMG 4050538466980 • USA, 2019 Big Town Playboy (4:19)(See page 876.) A remastered edition of the 1988 original album, released 29 March 2019. CD one has the original album and CD two has 6 tracks all previously unissued. The track above featuring Johnnie Johnson is previously unissued. Itâs a midtempo bluesy tune with Johnnie in good form and Keith throwing in some Berry riffs at the end. Also available on 180gr. vinyl as a 2 album set. Friday, July 5. 2019The fifty-five Chuck Berry recordings missing from the Bear Family 16-CD set
Recently an unnamed Chuck Berry fan collected what he called âThe Ultimate Collection of Hard-to-find Rarities, Live Performances, Demos & Out-Takesâ. I donât know who this fan is, but I know for a fact that he/she follows the articles in this blog closely.
Probably, this privately-made collection has been made available on one of the typical bootleg sites. For some time, privately-made CD copies of this collection were sold by an American bootlegger on ebay using the album name âSuch A Sight To See â Vol. 1â. There are other Volumes containing all kinds of live performances. The bootleg CDs have a printing âMade in Japanâ and a barcode (all the same), which are intended to make them look âofficialâ. We do not encourage to buy bootlegs as we believe that music creators (artists, musicians, studios, labels) deserve a fair compensation for creating the work we all enjoy. However, we would like to encourage Bear Family and similar re-issue labels to take this collection as a pattern of what urgently needs to be re-released soon. On the first two CDs of this collection, the creator included 55 (53) studio recordings by Chuck Berry. All follow a simple rule: they have been released in the past before but were omitted from the omnibus Rock And Roll Music - Any Old Way You Choose It (Bear Family BCD 17273 PL, 2014). Which tells us that if Bear Family would have included just two more CDs in their 16-CD boxset, theyâd had indeed made the âultimateâ Berry collection. Many of the tracks are from the out-of-print HIP-O-Select boxsets, some are from other CDs and records and were missing even on these âcompleteâ sets. All have been discussed on this site before. One should note, though, that some of these tracks are omitted from the Bear Family set by intention e.g. because of the poor sound quality (Go Go Go, Top Gear tracks). Anyway, they are âout thereâ and thus missing. The collectorâs effort in combining the missing recordings is worth to be repeated here for all of you who would like to know what they missed when buying the Bear Family box. Thus here it is (with a few corrections from me): 1. La Jaunda (EP Version) â We prefer the spelling La Juanda because this is what Chuck sings. Congratulations to the collector for this next-to-complete list. Along with the Bear Family set this combines every surviving studio recording ever made by Chuck Berry (except for the late Dualtone release and a couple of TV and radio studio recordings). Thus a request to Bear Family and the other labels: This is what collectors would like to be able to buy legally!
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Thursday, July 4. 2019CBID - Some new tributes to Chuck Berry
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: three additions to chapter 14 in Volume 2 which covers tributes to Chuck Berry. Ă
GE ALEXANDERSEN (Norway) GĂ„ GĂ„ GĂ„ (3:52) (Chuck Berry-ge Alexandersen) 2018 CD: So far this is only available on line. He performed it live during his 70 years birthday party (where he spoke highly of Berry) which was filmed for TV. This is Ă geâs tribute to one of his mentors, Chuck Berry. He says he once did get some Berry singles with Johnny B. Goode and Sweet Little Sixteen and he knew what he was going to do. He says that there wouldnât be any rockânâroll as we know it without Chuck Berry. He uses a great deal of the text from Sweet Little Sixteen and then writes his own lyrics to fit in. Itâs actually a rock song but itâs not rockinâ, if you get my drift. Anyway, itâs a good tribute. LA MANZANA PLASTICA (Mexico) Berry Rides Again (as âEl Gran Chuck Berryâ) (2:20) 1970 45: CBS 6644 • Mexico, 1970 Sung in Spanish. Taken from The Steppenwolfâs tribute to Berry from 1968 (see Steppenwolf on pages 761 and 1895). GUNN-TRUSCINSKI DUO (USA) Seagull For Chuck Berry (5:02) (Gunn-Truscinski) 2017 (instr) LP: Bay Head [Three Lobed LPTLR-124] • USA, 2017 Recorded at Echo Canyon West (?) in March 2017. Not so much Berry pickinâ on this slow and unusual instrumental. You can hear traces from âDeep Feelingâ, but Gunn explains that we sometimes took direct inspiration from the late rockânâroll godfather. However, you will have to listen closely. Anyway, because of the title itâs a tribute all right. The album above was their third as a duo. Wednesday, July 3. 2019CBID - Newly discovered Berry covers - and two non-covers
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: Yet another list of cover versions to be added to the chapter on Chuck Berry covers in Volume 3 and two songs which made it there by mistake: Hereâs another cover that must be moved to the NO Chuck section: However, cover versions of Berry song keep coming. And some of these are quite goode, indeed. Here's the latest list of new and newly discovered Berry covers. GEORGE BENSON (USA) Singer, songwriter and guitar player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1943. Alternating between jazz, pop, R&B , and scat singing. In the â60s and â70s he was known for his funky instrumental jazz, and in the â80s and â90s for his more smooth R&B crooning. His first album âThe New Boss Guitar Of George Bensonâ came out in 1964. He recorded a tribute album to Nat King Cole in 2013. Havana Moon (4:54) 2019 CD: Walking To New Orleans [Provogue PRD 819873018650] • USA, 2019 The subheading is Remembering Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. The LP is available in both black and yellow vinyl. âNadineâ turns out to be the best Berry cover on the album. Of course itâs interesting that a guy like Benson turns to Berryâs and Dominoâs music to make an album. Although I would have wished for a more original approach. I have been listening to the album several times and it becomes a little predictable, thereâs no surprises. Although I must admit that âHow Youâve Changedâ was an interesting and good choice which has become more of a ballad thing. Come to think of it, isnât the song actually a ballad? WILD BOB BURGOS And His Houserockers (UK) See Volume 4, page 1779 for biographical info. Itâs My Own Business ( : ) 2018 CD: Yeah!!...Dedicated To Rockinâ!! [TCY Records TCY-033] • Switzerland, 2019 Recorded in December 2017. âDedicated to the memory of the late great Chuck Berryâ. SANDY FORD & FLYING SAUCERS (UK) See Volume 3, page 1197 for biographical info on The Flying Saucers. Maybellene ( : ) 2018 CD: Out Of The Blue [Raw 1041] • UK, 2018 Self published album, containing 27 tracks, mostly covers of well-known rockânâroll songs, and some originals. Produced by Sandy Ford and he also plays most of the instruments himself. Sandyâs voice is remarkable reminiscent of Gene Vincentâs. JERRY GARCIA BAND (USA) See Volume 3, page 1207 for biographical info. Let It Rock (6:37) 1987 (live) 6-CD box: Electric On The Eel [ATO Records JGFRR-1021] • USA, 2019 Both songs recorded live at French's Camp On The Eel River in Piercy, California on 29 August 1987 respectively on 10 August 1991. HET COCKTAIL TRIO (Netherlands) No biographical info. No Particular Place To Go [as âDe Hele Wereld Alleen Van Onsâ] ( : ) 1964 45: Imperial IH-608 • Netherlands, 1964 (PS) JP AND THE RAZORS (UK) A three-piece rhythm and blues/rockânâroll outfit from the North-West of England. Guitar, bass and drums. It Wasnât Me (3:50) 2018 CD: Nothinâ To Lose [JPRCD-18011] • UK, 2018 Again it goes to show, all material is original apart from the Berry number! LOS DRACS (Spain) Beat sextet. Johnny B. Goode [as âVen Johnny Venâ] (2:24) 1965 EP: Los Dracs [Alma 4010-XC] • Spain, 1965 Johnny B. follows the others from Spain or Mexico. Rock And Roll Music built around the Beatlesâ version, plain and straight forward. SEAMUS McGARVEY BAND (UK) At the age of 72, Seamus McGarvey comes out with his debut album! A family band from Southend On Sea consisting of Seamus McGavey on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, John McGarvey on harmonica, Pat McGarvey bass, 5-string banjo and backing vocals, plus Jed Potts on rhythm and lead guitars, Calum McIntyre drums and washboard. Roll Over Beethoven (3:10) 2018 CD: Seamus OâBoogie [Johnny Rock Records JOROCK-028] • UK, 2019 A rockinâ goode version with a solid beat, one of the best Iâve heard in a long while. Recorded in Edinburgh during two days in March 2018. LITTLE HERBIE MAYES & The Twisters (USA) No biographical info. Maybellene (1:51) 1962 45: Alley AS-1064 • USA, 1962 Fast rockabilly version with a good bass line. DUKE ROBILLARD BAND (USA) See volume 3, page 1460 for biographical info. Dear Dad (2:13) 2019 CD: Ear Worms [Stony Plain SPCD-1403] • USA, 2019 This is a rockin goode version for sure. Duke has gathered a lot of friends to participate on this album and it is Klem Klimek who sings on this track but Duke is playing guitar, at least. The album was conceived as an album of songs that he heard and was attracted to growing up. Duke had this to say about pickinâ âDear Dadâ: It is one of my favorite Chuck Berry tunes. A latter song of his and never a hit, but it possesses all the components of a great Berry composition. Chuckâs command of the English language and his ability to create the coolest slang ever written is uncanny â Coolerator?!!! Whatâs cooler than that? TOMMY ROE (USA) See volume 3, pages 1472-73 for biographical info. It has come to my knowledge that it is actually guitar wizard Reggie Young who plays the eminent guitar fills and solos on Tommy Roeâs version of âCarolâ from 1964. The guitar playing blew my mind the first time I heard it. I was sure there must have been someone special, but now it is out that it actually was Reggie Young, a studio musician whoâs played on 100s of country, rock and pop songs (and hits) since the late â50s. Unfortunately he died 17 January 2019 at the age of 82. LINDA RONSTADT (USA) See volume 3, pages 1478-79 for biographical info. Back In The USA (2:58) 1980 CD & LP: Live In Hollywood [Rhino 574477] • USA, 2019 Recorded 24 April 1980 for her HBO television special at Television Center Studios in Hollywood. She was joined on stage by a band featuring Kenny Edwards (guitar), Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Billy Payne (keyboards), Dan Dugmore (pedal steel), Bob Glaub (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums), plus backing vocalists Wendy Waldman and Peter Asher, the latter besides being the executive producer also plays percussion. The Berry cover sounds very much like the hit version from 1978, very solid. The album contains 12 tracks, and except for two of them the rest are previously unreleased, including the Berry number. ARLEN ROTH (USA) See volume 3, pages 1481 for biographical info. Promised Land (5:21) 2019 feat. Jerry Donahue CD: Tele-Masters [Aquinnah AQ-0414] • USA, 2019 A whole album of players who are known for their Fender Telecaster skills. 16 tracks and besides featuring Arlen Roth (of course) youâll hear in the country field people like Vince Gill, Steve Wariner, Brad Paisley, Albert Lee. In the blues field Joe Bonamassa a.o. And people like Steve Cropper, Bill Kirchen, Redd Volkaert and also Cindy Cashdollar (Fender steel). LUDWIG SEUSS BAND (Germany) Born in 1964, Munich, Germany. Blues, Cajun, Zydeco pianist, organist and accordionist. Has been a member of the Spider Murphy Gang since 1987. Check out this group on pages 1526-1527 in Vol. 3. Maybellene ( : ) 2018 (live) CD: Live Im Lustspielhaus [Styx Records STYX-1094] • Germany, 2018 Sounds okay by me. The vocalist on this Berry number is GĂŒnther Sigl, a founding member of the Spider Murphy Gang. JIMMY (STAGGER LEE) SMITH (USA) No biographical info. Memphis, Tennessee [as "Memphis"] ( : ) 1970s 45: Rexius RR-5051 • USA, 1970s Donât know much about this except I have seen the record and label but havenât heard it. It could be an instrumental version or⊠The flip side is a cover of âStagger Leeâ and is actually credited to Chuck Berry! Record label out of Portland, Oregon. I am not even sure about the year either, it could be the late â60s for all I know. TONY VILAPLANA (Spain) No biographical info. Maybellene ( : ) 1964 EP: Tony Vilaplana Y Sus Teen Stars [Vergara 35.0.076 C] • Spain, 1964 I havenât heard it but he looks like a teen star and he probably sounds like it too, or maybe he listened to Gene Vincentâs version? Saturday, June 29. 2019CBID - The Voyager Golden Record - Vinyl Edition
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: a beautiful re-release of mankind's most important record release containing a Berry number. USA THE VOYAGER GOLDEN RECORD (3-LP set / 2-CD set) Johnny B. Goode A very nice box in LP size containing 3 gold vinyl LPs (or 2 CDs) with a 90 page elegant booklet with the story telling the whole background and many color photos, several taken from the spacecrafts. The project started way back in July 1972. The initial idea was a grand tour of the Solar system exploring the four mysterious outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. In 1977 the United States of America (NASA) launched two spacecrafts, Voyager I (5 September) and Voyager II (20 August). Each contained a special Gold Record which included pictures, sounds and music from planet Earth. Apart from the usual classical music of Beethoven, Bach, and musical highlights from various countries, the discs also have popular tracks like Louis Armstrong âMelancholy Bluesâ (1927), Blind Willie Johnson âDark Was The Night, Cold Was The Groundâ (1927) and Chuck Berry âJohnny B. Goodeâ (1958). The idea to the golden record came about in January 1977 when Carl Sagan and Frank Drake met in Hawaii, both colleagues at Cornell University. The metal Gold record is covered with a lid with information for the aliens on how to build a record player, how to use the enclosed cartridge of stylus inside the package and how to place the pickup onto the record. The gold record was recorded at half-speed which gave 2 hours of material. One and half hour of music, the rest being spoken greetings, natural sounds and photographs. On the OZMA release, the sound is distributed onto three golden-color vinyl LPs which you don't have to build your own record player for. Also included in the box are a slipmat for your record player showing the spacecraft's trajectories, a gold foil print of the original record cover and a 100-page book. Sunday 28 January 2018 this LP vinyl box set won a Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Well deserved. The Voyager Golden Record 3xLP Vinyl Box set and 2xCD-Book edition are available from Ozma Records at: https://ozmarecords.com/pages/voyager After over 41 years the two spacecrafts are some 19 billion kilometers from earth and have now reached whatâs called "Interstellar space", beyond the planets mentioned above. And continue their journey through the Universe by some 16-17 kilometers per second (!). Both Voyagers send signals home every day taking up to 18 hours to reach earth. In 2017 a documentary titled âThe Farthestâ was made by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Irish Film Board and ZDF in collaboration with Arte, BBC, RTĂ and PBS, (Crossing The Line Productions) to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the launching. Very interesting to follow what happened before, under and after. You even see a glimpse of Berry performing at the launching event back in 1977. Here are a few comments from the documentary regarding Berry and Johnny B. : We had a big party at the JPL [Jet Propulsion Labratory, a federal research center in Pasadena, California where the spacecrafts were built] and that was a good send off for Voyager. Candy Hansen-Koharcheck (Imaging Science Representative): 4 billion years from now when our sun turns into a red giant, Voyager will be traveling out there through the stars, and the sounds of our time are going to be out there, Chuck Berry is still out there⊠A little humor at the end. Comedian and actor Steve Martin told the viewers on Saturday Night Live 22 April 1978 that a message was soon received after Voyager had been launched which read: Send more Chuck Berry ⊠And he was dead serious. A transcript of the joke can be found at http://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/2017/03/send-more-chuck-berry.html. To follow up in connection with the 40th Anniversary, the Dualtone Store offered a black T-shirt saying exactly that: Send More Chuck Berry. You can actually buy it on their web-site https://www.dualtonestore.com/products/send-more-chuck-berry-t-shirt Thanks to Ozma Records/LAD Design for providing additional information and several of the images shown. Further links worth to follow are: an interactive version of the Golden Record: http://goldenrecord.org/ NASA description of the Golden Record production: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/ Tuesday, April 23. 2019The Chuck Berry On Stage confusion continues
If you followed our discussions about the Chuck Berry On Stage (Chess LP-1480) album, you will understand why there is such a huge confusion about the contents and appearance of this album. Since December 2014 we have been discussing the cover variants of the album showing that none of the images on the net associated with this album represents the original first cover (except for the ones shown on this site).
In December 2017 we added a second discussion about Vinyl variants of this album explaining why almost every description of CHESS LP-1480 includes an incorrect track listing. As the original record was supposed to be taken for a true live recording, it didn't had a track listing on the labels and just a non-ordered song list on the back cover. Both the song list and the most common US cover include a song title never used by Berry: "Surfin' USA". The Chess brothers were trying to generate sales following the Beach Boys' hit record which indeed was a disguised cover version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen". And following the Surf craze they also re-titled an instrumental originally called "Crying Steel" to become known as "Surfing Steel". All in all it's no wonder partner record companies who licensed the On Stage album became confused as well. Which in turn again resulted in strange variants of record covers. Of course you need to collect Chuck Berry records as intense as this site's Morten Reff to notice the interesting variations of covers such as these two here: AUSTRALIA The Australian version of Chuck Berry On Stage was released as CHESS CHL-211 not long after the US version in 1963. The front cover follows the US version closely except for the boxed CHESS in the upper right corner. The track listing on the back is a variant of the song list from the US album. It correctly distributes the songs to Side 1 and Side 2 but retains the incorrect sequence and naming. Maybe due to complaints — Hey, I bought Surfin' USA from Chuck Berry but it isn't on the disk! — some time later the company quietly replaced the cover with a slightly corrected version. Now on the front cover "Surfin' USA" became "Maybelline" [sic], and within the track listing "Surfin' USA" became "Sweet Little 16" [sic]. Also the song sequence on Side 1 is now as it is on the record. Since also the Chess logo in the upper right corner changed, this variant may have been released a year or more later. The record itself including the printing on the labels did not change, though. Side 2 still incorrectly lists "Surfin' USA". THE NETHERLANDS In the Netherlands, Berry's Chess records were released by Artone on their Funckler label. They designed their own cover for the On Stage album. When it came out as Funckler MGCH-9218 in March 1964, "Sweet Little Sixteen" already made it to the front cover correctly. However, "Surfin' USA" is still there, this time as an incorrect title for "Cryin'/Surfing Steel". This error is both on the front cover and in the track listing on the back. Again, some time later Artone re-released the record. The had now licensed the Chess label name and logo and were releasing the records under the Chess International label. While exchanging the Funckler logo on cover and label, they also corrected the song title. On Chess International PAR-106 "Surfin' USA" was replaced by "Surfin' Steel" (keeping the apostrophe) on both cover and label. One should note that Artone changed covers, labels and even packaging often. Either they printed too few copies or they sold much more than expected. According to Morten's research, the Funckler version also exists with an orange color label. The Chess International version has the album name printed in red on some copies while it's printed in black on others. Finally PAR-106 exists in a standard LP cover (with spine, open at only one side) as well as in the Artone-typical plastic sleeve. Artone tried to establish selling albums in a clear plastic sleeve which could be used for all LPs unchanged. The cover printing was on a folded thin cardboard open at three sides which was easier and cheaper to produce. Records by all the Artone labels such as Funckler, Prestige and even CBS International were released this way. This kind of packaging did not prevail, though. Even Artone finally came to use the industry standard glued cover. And no, Morten is not sure that he has all the existing variants. Thanks to Morten for the images and details plus thanks to Arne Wolfswinkel and Frank Jochemsen for background information about the Artone packaging. Sunday, April 21. 2019Stephanie Bennett on the Making of Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Stephanie Bennett is a famous film producer having created some of the best rock documentaries. Chuck Berry collectors know her as the producer who brought to us "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll", the famous concert film and documentary celebrating Berry's 60th birthday.
And while Bennett, director Taylor Hackford, and musical director Keith Richards definitely tried to celebrate Berry in this movie, we all know that Berry's cooperation was less than sufficient. To Berry this was just another business project he got paid for. Due to this, production of the movie was more than chaotic. Despite of what ended up in the movie, Berry did not help making it, but instead helped to destroy Hackford's and Richards' work and intentions. Mrs. Bennett says that Berry's passing two years ago brought back all the memories about the creation of this film. While discussing the thirty years old events with their teammates, she decided to write a book about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now the book is out, published by Vireo/Rare Bird Books in the U.S. and available through all bookstores. It is called "Johnny B. Bad — Chuck Berry and the Making of Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll", 220 pages thick, hardcover bound and including a selection of color photographs. The title page says "written by Stephanie Bennett" while the inner page says "written by Stephanie Bennett with Thomas D. Adelman" who was the line producer of the movie. In fact, the book wasn't written by either. Mrs. Bennett calls her book an 'oral history'. This means it is a collection of quotes of what the team members remember from the movie production. Tom Adelman remembers a lot, so does Stephanie Bennett. But most of the quotes are old. There's a two-page quote by Bruce Springsteen about backing up Berry one time. But this isn't a new quote from an interview done for this book. It is word-for-word in the movie itself. Most of the readers here will own the DVD version of the movie. Most will own the 2006 two-DVD set or even, as recommended here, the four-DVD set containing all the bonus material. And if you own these DVDs, you already know most of the quotes. For instance the first chapter is a "conversation with Chuck Berry and Robbie Robertson". And this is a word-for-word transcription of the half-hour film "The Burnt Scrapbook — Robbie Robertson and Chuck Berry's Scrapbook" which is on DVD 3. (Unfortunately typed by someone who didn't watch the film, as Chuck Berryn becomes Chuck Barron in the book.) Chapter two is "Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley & Little Richard" and — you guessed it — is a word-for-word transcription of the 90-minute "Witnesses to History #1" which is also on DVD 3. Thus while you have reached page 56 of the book, all you got is that someone read to you the contents of DVD 3. Most stories told and many, many of the other quotes are taken from "The Reluctant Movie Star — The bizarre tales of the making of Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" which is a one-hour film on DVD 2 of the set. This includes both the Algoa incident and the concert recording memories. Of course there also is original material in the book. Especially the story about the team checking out Berry's performance at the Chicago Blues Festival (where Richards performed with Berry), the stories about the visit to Richards' home in Jamaica, and the things that happened after the shooting of the movie haven't been told yet, at least not to this detail. Unfortunately the original material is less than half of the book. To those who are purely interested in the musical aspects of Berry's work, there is a single page which is of interest. In between the nice color photo section you'll suddenly find a one-page type-written sheet called "Song Selection". On this page we get an exact description of the songs which made it into the movie. This includes the show number they were taken from. And it includes a list of those "recordings" which have been combined from the performances in show one and show two. Another interesting fact from the book is that the concert recordings have been overdubbed twice. There was one overdub session at Berry Park where Billy Youdelman re-recorded some of the vocals for the movie's audio track. And there was a second overdub session in which Don Wershba re-recorded some of the vocals for the soundtrack album. (This is why we get two different vocal overdubs for "Roll Over Beethoven".) Trying to further fill the missing pieces in our database I asked Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Youdelman, and Mr. Wershba whether they have any notes left telling about the dates and places of the overdubs. All three were so kind to reply to my inquiry but unfortunately Mrs. Bennett has no paperwork regarding these topics. Billy Youdelman cannot remember the exact date but that it was shortly after the concert and that it was only a one or two day job, and not very long. Don Wershba's memories are worth another blog entry due soon. Whether you will want to buy the book depends on your preference of reading vs. watching DVDs. And of course on whether you own the DVDs. It's a nice read, but as said, it's old news. Many of the quotes you will have heard before. Some of the newly told anecdotes, especially by Hackford, Bennett and Adelman, might be worth the price of the book, though. And if you wonder why actress Helen Mirren comments on the story as if she was part of the movie, keep in mind that she is married to Taylor Hackford and accompanied him throughout the making of this film. Do not miss to visit the book's own website johnnybbadbook.com. It contains a lot of interesting photos as well as videos with Hackford and Bennett telling some of the stories. Many thanks to Julia Callahan of Rare Bird Books, Stephanie Bennett, Billy Youdelman, and Don Wershba for answering my additional questions. Saturday, April 13. 2019Unanswered questions about the recording of Memphis, Tennessee
The following post from February 18, 2019 was supposed to demonstrate the difficulties we face while trying to reconstruct Chuck Berry's recording legacy from the few sources we have. And it was supposed to provoke readers to provide further knowledge. Scroll down for additional comments.
[Within our database of all Chuck Berry recordings we try to present the most complete and the most correct information about Berryâs recording work. The database is the result of decades of research using all of the data publicly available about these recordings (and sometimes even more). However, we deal here with recordings which were made when we, the researchers, were little kids or not even born. This means that most of what we do is historical research. Arne Wolfswinkel presents here an example of how difficult such research is.] Memphis, Tennessee is one of Berryâs best-known songs. However, its origins and its recording details are very obscure. There are at least three different sources which talk about different personnel involved in the creation of the recording. Today we think of Memphis as one of Berryâs greatest hits and one of his most important masterpieces. But at the time the song and the recording originated, nobody really knew what to do with it as it was so different. Bruce Pegg summarized the song as follows: [The song] is a masterpiece of storytelling, simple and yet full of detail. It is also, quite possibly, one of the earliest pop songs ever to deal with the effects of divorce and child custody, certainly one of the first to deal with it from a male point of view. [] In a two-minute pop song, Chuck Berry captured the frustrations and sadness of a divorced father, a rare adult theme in the disposable world of 1950s teenage rock and roll. [Bruce Pegg, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, p 106] This was not to become a hit record in 1958. Which is why its release history is reasonable: it was not released at all after recorded in mid 1958. Chess Records hid it on the back of single 1729 (Back in the USA), released in June 1959 concurrently with the movie âGo, Johnny, Go!â (and its promotional soundtrack album) into which it did not fit either. One must merely ignore the central plot and the two characters played by Jimmy Clanton and Sandy Stewart, although even there you get some insights into the differences between the way that some black artists perceived and wrote rock & roll, and how white teen audiences perceived it. As Chuck Berry performs "Memphis Tennessee" on television (concluding with a fiercely sexual "duckwalk" that was astonishing for a black man to be seen doing, in a movie aimed at mainstream white audiences in 1959), a very serious song about marriage, divorce, and broken families, Clanton's and Stewart's characters are seen laughing as they watch the performance onscreen at her home. [Bruce Eder, AllMovie.com] In the movie, Berry performs, well lip-syncs, Memphis all by himself in front of a TV camera. What we can definitely tell is that here we miss instruments playing. There definitely are drums on the recorded track as well as multiple guitars. Trying to find out who played which instrument on Memphis, CHESS master number 9073, we find inconsistent data. According to âThe Chess Labels: A Discographyâ by Michel Ruppli the song was recorded during a September 1958 session in Chicago, with Berry on vocals and guitar, possibly Bo Diddley on second guitar, Johnny Johnson on piano, Willie Dixon on (double) bass and Fred Below on drums. This line-up was repeated in a recent French discography and others. In contrast, a discography printed on the 1972 sleeve of âChuck Berryâs Golden Decade, Vol. 2â states âMemphis recorded by Berry himself and drums added by Chessâ. In his 1987 autobiography Chuck Berry confirms this, although he claims to have played the drums himself: Memphis [] was recorded [] on a $145 homemade studio in the heat of a muggy July afternoon with a $79 reel-to-reel Sears, Roebuck recorder that had provisions for sound-on-sound recording. I played the guitar and the bass track, and I added the ticky-tick drums that trot along in the background which sound so good to me. I worked over a month on revising the lyric before I took the tape up to Leonard Chess to listen to. He was again pressed for a release since my concerts (driving on the road then) kept me from the recording studio for long periods. Based on Berryâs recollection, Fred lists both Memphis and Jo Jo Gunne (which has the same primitive sounding fidelity) as being recorded in St. Louis, July 1958 when he publishes his book âLong Distance Informationâ (2001). He changes his mind when thirteen years later the details of a September 26, 1958 recording contract become available. Both songs are listed on the contract, which also reports that the musicians present at the session are Berry (vocals, guitar), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (double bass), and Jasper Thomas (drums). Placing the songs (back) in the session, the matrix numbers allocated to the songs now run consecutively, so Fred concludes that Berry must have confused a demo recording of Memphis with the studio cut. However, itâs still possible Berryâs recollection is actually correct and he recorded the master of Memphis â and Jo Jo Gunne â in his home studio. First of all, both songs just feature vocals, guitar, and drums (the bass part on Memphis is actually played on the low strings of a guitar). Why are Spann and Dixon suddenly absent? Of course, it could be an artistic decision not to include piano and bass on those songs, but it still seems a bit odd if they were there during the session. Secondly, Berry writes that he used a âreel-to-reel [] recorder that had provisions for sound-on-sound recordingâ â a technique where layers of sound are placed on top of each other (a famous example being How High the Moon by Les Paul and Mary Ford, recorded in 1951). This would explain why the fidelity of those songs is much lower (loss of clarity, considerately more tape hiss) than Anthony Boy and Sweet Little Rock and Roller, the other tracks recorded at the September 1958 session. And it might be coincidental, but session reels with multiple takes of those two songs still exist, while this isnât the case for Memphis nor Jo Jo Gunne. However, we know for certain that Berry misremembers one thing: the only $79 recorder available in 1956 and 1958 catalogues of the Sears & Roebuck mail-order company was the Silvertone 7070, which had no way to do sound-on-sound. Perhaps Berry mixed up his receipts and used an AMPEX or Berlant Concertone recorder, which did have provisions for sound-on-sound in 1958. Unfortunately, we probably will never find out what has happened exactly. It is possible that Berry recorded Memphis and Jo Jo Gunne all by himself at home. It is also possible that both the basic track and the overdubs were done at the Chess studios. And every combination of home tape and studio overdubs is possible as well. Until we learn better, our database will list Jasper Thomasâ drums and the additional guitars as overdubs with a note that there is an option that Berry recorded all instruments by himself. Comment from April 13, 2019: Chuck Berry expert Jean-Pierre Ravelli, who ran a European fan club in the 1960s and 1970s, tells us that he remembers talking to Francine Gillium in August 1970. Fran was Berry's personal secretary and managed his fan clubs and businesses since the 1950s. In her talk with Jean-Pierre, Fran confirmed that 'Memphis, Tennessee' was recorded at Berry's office and that she (Fran) had been playing the drums. Of course we can only speculate whether such a claim is valid and if it is, whether this was the recording which finally made it to the records. Comment from November 25, 2019 (and following): Dave Rubin, author of "Play Like Chuck Berry" (Hal Leonard Corp., to be released in 2020), found another reason which may point to a home recording: "While analyzing the guitar solo I noticed a mistake where he misses his mark by one fret. In measure 14 of the guitar solo Chuck plays D/F at fret 10 instead of D#/F# at fret 11. Maybe he thought he could get away with it, and he has, as the rest of the recording was a good take?" Maybe. Though it's doubtful that such a minor mistake would have forced recording of another take even in the studio. The error could indicate it's indeed a 'sound on sound' recording (so Berry wasn't able to have another go at the overdub), but on the other hand, there are other such examples from his sessions at Chess. Comment from February 20, 2020 (and following): Using experimental software called Spleeter, which tries to split a given recording back into individual tracks, we tried to find out more about the instruments and overdubs used. The algorithm to split tracks is far from perfect (and probably the task is often impossible to solve), but the software does a nice job in extracting the drums. Arne summarizes what we got from Spleeter's output: "There are three guitars parts: the 'rhythm' part which starts the song, immediately followed by the 'bass' part (played on the lower strings of the guitar). Come to think of it, this part probably inspired George Harrison for the Beatles' Two of Us. The 'lead' part starts during the first verse. As far as I can hear, the drummer only uses a floor tom on the song (and perhaps another tom or a snare drum with a loosened snare). I don't hear any cymbals or a kick drum. On Jo Jo Gunne there's also a snare and hi-hat, by the way." Sunday, April 7. 2019Jon Brewer's Chuck Berry Documentary broadcast on ARTE TV
Friday night, German/French TV station ARTE broadcast the new documentary "Chuck Berry" by Jon Brewer. The film originally premiered in Cannes in October last year, but I don't know if it has been shown to the public since.
The film is a typical documentary/interview combination. The documentary part is taken from very well known sources, mostly from Taylor Hackford's "Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll" and its DVD bonuses. New interview segments are from many known musicians such as Johnny Rivers, Gene Simmons, Steve Van Zandt, George Thorogood, and Alice Cooper. The most interesting segments are interviews with the Berry family and close friends which speak quite frankly (though of course biased) about living and working with Chuck. So we listen to Chuck's wife Themetta, their children Charles, Ingrid, and Melody, the grandsons Charlie and Jahi as well as Jim Marsala, Joe Edwards, and Wayne Schoenberg. If you missed the broadcast, you can view the film on ARTE's website. Note that all the dialogs are dubbed to either German or French. You cannot listen to the original English dialogs. The version with German dub can be found here: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/080529-000-A/chuck-berry/ The version with French dub can be found here: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/080529-000-A/chuck-berry/ Both videos can be watched until July 2019. The production company Cardinal Releasing has a short summary as well as a movie poster for this new film at https://www.cardinalreleasing.com/chuck-the-documentary Saturday, April 6. 2019Chuck Berry Live At The BBC 1972
[This blog post was originally written in Feb 2017. A recent email conversation forces me to add some notes to the end.]
In June of 1972 the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC recorded an 80 minute Chuck Berry concert at the BBC Television Theatre in London. This recording is one of the best Berry performances ever shown on TV. But unfortunately it wasn't available for us to watch again. The original recording was broadcast edited down to 45 minutes. The audio track of this abbreviated show was saved and made it to a Vinyl bootleg called "Six Two Five". For more about this record, see here. In the early 2000s the BBC show was re-transmitted by other TV stations, though now as a 60 minute show with additional songs. Thus we knew there must still exist the original full recording from 1972. Recently we found a DVD on eBay which claimed to contain the complete show. We checked - and yes: This is the original uncut 80 minutes recording of the 1972 show at excellent video and sound quality, obviously directly from the BBC archives. Live at the BBC (ZitRock ZR-DVD-CHB-16-03, US, 2016) contains all the songs which we know from the Six Two Five album. In addition there's School Day, Too Much Monkey Business, Rock and Roll Music, and Promised Land. With Reelin' and Rockin' and My Ding-A-Ling it's not hard to tell why these two songs were omitted from the original BBC broadcast as both are the raunchy versions very similar to the ones recorded four months earlier at the Lanchester Arts Festival. Maybe the BBC would have decided differently if they would have known that both raunchy versions would hit the charts at year's end. While video tape copies of the various international broadcast have been known before, this DVD is of much better quality. And for the first time it contains the instrumental Liverpool Drive of which we didn't have any video recording before. We have added this DVD as an "other notable release" to our Chuck Berry database meaning it's not a record or CD, but contains additional tracks from the same session as the corresponding record or CD. The full session is now at this session page of the Chuck Berry Database. [added Apr 2019:] The DVD has been created by ZitRock, though not for commercial sale. The creator of the DVD contacted me in March 2019 to explain the origins of this DVD. Many thanks! The video has been published first on YouTube in April 2016. It's still there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrOr3WKmyY. The original poster at YouTube didn't tell anything about the origin of the video, though. ZitRock, an expert on Rolling Stones DVDs, took this video and enhanced/remastered the audio track. The DVD was made available for download from the net. It seems that someone took ZitRock's files to burn and sell the DVD on eBay. Saturday, March 23. 2019CBID - an EP collection, or not
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: Thierry Chanu about a new 10" LP which claims to repeat original EPs. THE ORIGINAL EP COLLECTION - NO.1 Part of the "Original EP Collection" (other artists are: Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, ...) On Side A1 we have the "After School Session" EP, originally released as Chess EP 5118 in May 1957: School Day / Wee Wee Hours / Brown Eyed Handsome Man / Too Much Monkey Business. On Side A2 we have the "Rock & Roll Music" EP, originally released as Chess EP 5119 in Nov/Dec 1957 (not 1958 as said on this sleeve and label): Rock And Roll Music / Blue Feeling (instr) / Oh Baby Doll / La Jaunda (español). BUT: instead of "Oh Baby Doll" the record plays "Deep Feeling" (instr) ... strange! This reminds us of a mistake on the back cover of the original US EP: It says "Deep Feeling" and the record plays "Blue Feeling" as said on the label (see CBID Vol. 1, page 52). Thursday, March 14. 2019CBID - the earliest LP release of Johnny B. Goode - and some more CHUCK
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: Johnny B. Goode was released as a single in March 1958. In the US it took until late 1959 when the hit finally appeared on Chuck Berry Is On Top. However, this was not the first LP release of this song. Here's the album to know. Also we show yet another version of the CHUCK album as an addition to our blog post of November 2017. AUSTRALIA ONE DOZEN BERRYS Sorry folks but there is a very important difference on this Australian release, compared to the US one. They actually changed the dreadful âLow Feelingâ with the classic âJohnny B. Goodeâ. POLAND / EU CHUCK I just came across another issue of the «Chuck» album, namely from Poland. Tuesday, February 19. 2019Chuck Berry's Birthday Album Edits
[This blog entry first appeared in January 2016. Recent research by reader James revealed some additional facts. These are included in italics below.]
Along with Taylor Hackford's 1986 documentary film celebrating Chuck Berry's 60th birthday MCA released a soundtrack album called Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (MCA LP 6217). It has been known that the contents of the soundtrack album is edited against the original recordings made during the two shows filmed for the movie. It has not been known exactly what kind of edits were done during this post-processing, though. However, given the huge resource of professional and private audience recordings, finding out the edits is possible. It's just a tremendous task. During many weeks reader and fellow researcher Claude Schlouch [in 2015] listened to and compared the various recordings over and over again. [Additional research was done by reader James in 2019.] Here are the results:
Many thanks to Claude [and James] for all the work spent and for sharing his results with us. I have edited the section of the main site which covers the birthday concerts accordingly. Sunday, February 10. 2019CBID - More Berry Covers
CBID is the Chuck Berry International Directory, a 2.200 page pile of Chuck Berry records information published in four volumes between 2008 and 2013. For details see the bibliography section of this site.
CBID is never complete as new records and CDs appear and some old rarities are discovered. This section presents interesting additions and corrections to CBID. Today: Some observations and yet another list of cover versions to be added to the chapter on Chuck Berry covers in Volume 3: Thereâs lot of versions of Johnny B. Goode on the net but many of them are for download only. I am glad that I am not doing the books now (especially Vol. 3) as there would have been a complete mess finding out if the actual songs are available on any CDs. I also found a duo calling themselves Johnny B. Goode (yes) and a girl quartet named The Maybelleneâs, both seem to be from the US. Note: âBack In The USAâ by Starbyrd we will have to place in the NO Chuck section, itâs not Berryâs! Also, âRun Rudolph Runâ by Chuck is featured in many films, as we know. A more recent movie from 2015 titled âA Christmas Melodyâ has this played when the family is driving from one place to another. Cast Lacey Nicole Chabert and Brennan Elliott. Directed by Mariah Carey who also has a role in this movie. DONALD FAGEN (USA) Donald Jay Fagen from New Jersey, born in 1948, is a singer and keybord player and probably best known for being a co-founder of the 1970s pop-rock/jazz band Steely Dan. Viva, Viva Rock & Roll (2:42) 2007 (live) CD: Morph The Cat [Reprise 43325-2] • USA, 2007 Interesting to see that he covers an obscure Berry rocker. He does a great job of it, and you can even find a performance on You Tube. ADAM DOUGLAS (USA/Norway) Born in the USA (Oklahoma), but now living in Norway (Harestua . Hadeland). Born in 1981. Heâs a very versatile artist performing rockânâroll/soul/blues type of music, and released his debut album in 2015, âI May Never Learnâ. He competed in the Norwegian TV-show Stjernekamp (=Starfight) in 2017 and won. Run Rudolph Run (4:01) 2017 CD: An American Holiday [Reva Records CA-19] • Norway, 2018 Recorded live in Nordstrand Kirke, Oslo, Norway. (Kirke = Church) This was also a TV-programme. This version of the Berry classic doesnât run so much and the guitar solo is more 60s/70s lacking the most. JOHNNY FRITZ (Canada) Country singer/songwriter , born 1961 in a small town just outside of Toronto. Johnny B. Goode (4:02) 2015 CD: No End In Sight [J Fritz 234639] • Canada, 2015 ERIN HARPE And The DELTA SWINGERS (USA) Run Rudolph Run (3:33) 2018 CD: Christmas Swing [Vizz Tone CD-VTJJ-003] • USA, 2018 WALLIS LAKE & The Surfinâ Guitars (USA) Brown Eyed Handsome Man (2:03) 1963 45: 4 Sons Records 4106 • USA, 1963 Label out of Paris, Tennessee. Again interesting to see a double sided Berry cover 45. Thereâs no year printed on the label, but because of the mistitle of âLet It Rockâ itâs probably taken from the Berry âOn Stageâ Chess LP from August â63. I havenât heard it but it should be interesting to hear if they by any chance used the new arrangement of âBrown Eyed Handsome Manâ which was also included on the âOn Stageâ album. RONNIE LANE (UK) See Volume 3, page 1305 for biographical info. You Never Can Tell (9:57) 1980 (live) CD: Live At Rockpalast 1980 [MIG Music 90542 CD] • Germany, 2012 Recorded on 19 March 1980 in Cologne, West Germany. This is okay but nothing more, even though he has Ian Stewart with him on piano. Almost 10 minutes, I still feel it doesnât swing enough. SCORPIONS (UK) See volume 3, page 1492 for biographical info. Guitar Boogie (instr) (2:20) 1959 CD: The Scorpions: Anthology 1959-1965 [Wooden Hill WHCD-004] • UK, 1996 When Vol.3 was published I didnât have this particular CD. I was quite certain that it was the same version and nobody told me that âGuitar Boogieâ was actually a Berry cover and not Arthur Smithâs. Anyway, it turns out that the numbers here were recorded in November 1959 and December 1960 respectively. AND the version of âRockinâ At The Philâ is a totally different take, going much slower and stretched out to almost four minutes. However, it doesnât have the fire and power of the released fast and shorter version. âGuitar Boogieâ is not in the same league, itâs messy and in poorer sound quality. SHIVAREE (USA) Alternative pop/rock band formed in 1997 and consisted of Ambrosia Parsley (vocals), Danny McGough (keyboards), Duke McVinnie (guitar). Probably best known for âGoodnight Moonâ, a song used in both Dawsonâs Creek and Volume 2 of Kill Bill. The band separated officially the same year the album below came out. I Want To Be Your Driver [as â I Wanna Be Your Driverâ] (2:29) 2007 CD: Tainted Love: Mating Calls And Fight Songs [ZoĂ« Records ZOE 01143-1092-2] • USA, 2007 This is quite okay, but too much noise for me, and the guitarist is no rockânâroller to say the least. RON WILLIAMS (USA) Country singer/songwriter in the traditional style. Son of country singer/songwriter Leona Williams. Nadine (3:18) 2013 CD: Foolproof [Loveshine CD-4261] • USA, 2013 A solid rendition of this Berry classic, with fiddle, steel and a horn section.
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