News Archive
Chuck Berry
appeared on "Tonight Show With Jay Leno"
Saturday, 30.
August 2008 - 12:28
On August 29th 2008 Chuck Berry performed a
fine rendition of "Johnny B. Goode"
on the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno". Berry last performed on the show
in 2002,
together with Little Richard.
A video recording of yesterday's performance can be seen by clicking here.
Source: Wolfgang Guhl
Chuck Berry
double-books again - European Tour put into question
Wednesday,
27.
August 2008 - 18:48
Chuck
Berry is scheduled to play 15,000-seat SAP-Arena in Mannheim
on November 22nd 2008. This obviously does not stop him to accept
a booking at B.B. King's Blues Club (capacity: 900) in New York, NY
on the same day.
This
is not the first time Chuck Berry double-books a date. We recommend
to all fans to hold back on buying tickets for the European Tour
until it gets confirmed. The following is the tentative schedule:
09.11.08
- Istanbul, Turkey - Parkorman
10.11.08 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
11.11.08 - Brussels, Belgium - Cirque Royal
12.11.08 - Yekaterinburg, Russia - To Be Announced
13.11.08 - Moscow, Russia - To Be Announced
14.11.08 - Paris, France
- Le Zenith
15.11.08 - Amiens, France - Zenith
D'Amiens
16.11.08 - Villach, Austria - Stadthalle
17.11.08 - Salzburg, Austria - Salzburg
Arena
18.11.08 - Innsbruck, Austria - Olympiahalle
19.11.08 - Amsterdam, Holland - Heineken
Music Hall
20.11.08 - Essen, Germany - Grugahalle
21.11.08 - To Be Announced
22.11.08 - Mannheim, Germany - SAP-Arena
23.11.08 - Doncaster, England - Doncaster
Dome
Little
Richard to undergo hip replacement surgery
Wednesday,
27.
August 2008 - 18:48
Little
Richard is scheduled for hip replacement surgery
on September 2nd 2008.
He
will spend a couple of weeks recovering before hitting
the road again.
Source: Timo Reijola
Cheyenne
Productions Press Release
Saturday, 16.
August 2008 - 18:50
CHEYENNE PRODUCTIONS PRESS RELEASE (August 16th 2008)
CHUCK BERRY BEING SUED BY HIS OWN AGENT
Cheyenne
Productions' Patrick Rocher poses with Chuck Berry
(Photo Credit: Patrick Rocher)
Cheyenne
Productions which in recent years has booked up to 80 % of Chuck Berry’s dates
outside
of the St. Louis area, resulting in literally hundreds of shows, announces today
it is going to
sue Chuck Berry for costs and expenses caused by the artist’s cancellation of
three European
dates in question.
Berry,
who has spent three prison stays in his 81 year old long life, intentionally
blackmailed
his agent and local promoters, and gave false information to his fans via his
own website. The
legendary Rock’n’Roll icon, who won this year’s Golden Camera Award in
Berlin, intentionally
double-booked shows. While he was supposed to open his European Tour at a
Private Function in
Narbonne, France on July 5th, Berry at the last minute accepted a gig
at International Achievement
Summit in Kona, HI on July 4th for which he apparently received a sum
twice as high as for his
French gig which was supposed to be the start of a 13-date European Tour. On
July 3rd Berry announced
via his own website that he was going to cancel the first 3 European shows of
his tour. Narbonne (France)
on July 5th, Toulouse (France) on July 6th and Cordoba
(Spain) on July 7th as he was mourning the
loss of his brother, but quite obviously intentionally as Berry played the
Hawaii gig on July 4th
this was false information spread... Then, with the help of the cooperative
local Spanish Promoter,
his Agent Patrick rocher of Cheyenne Productions, rescheduled Cordoba to July
13. Berry eventually
kicked off his European Tour on July 10th in Opatija, Croatia at a
now reduced schedule of 11 gigs.
Berry also played shows in Pamplona (Spain), the postponed gig in Cordoba
(Spain), Sete (France),
Newport (England), two shows at London’s (England) historic Hackney Empire,
Dublin (Ireland) and
a final show at Maryport Blues Festival (England) on July 25th at
which he demanded to go on stage
30 minutes before his scheduled time, forcing the festival to adjust its time
schedule at the last
minute. On his way back from Maryport to Manchester after the show Berry got
into an argument with
his own daughter over his own life-threatening driving style. Berry eventually
asked his agent to
drive the car at no more than 60 km/h (40miles/hour) on the highway. After a 4
hour drive and 200kms,
the touring party arrived at their 5 star hotel in Manchester. The next morning
(July 26th) Berry
met up with Patrick Rocher of Cheyenne Productions at 7.45 pm in the hotel lobby
as agreed. The
crew was supposed to fly to Malaga (Spain) Berry to play a show at Classic Rock
Festival with John
Mayall and on July 27th and he was also scheduled to do a show at
Carracedelo (Spain). Berry told
his longtime agent he would not do the last 2 Spanish shows of the tour for
unspecified reasons.
That day Chuck Berry took a flight home to Chicago, IL; that evening he was
spotted at Ameristar
Casino in St. Charles, MO chatting to fans while thousands of Spanish fans
waited for the Legend’s
arrival that was not to be. Chuck Berry was fully paid upfront for 12 shows,
before the tour, and
unfortunately aslo for the cancelled shows in Toulouse, Malaga and Carracedelo.
To this day he has
not reimbursed his well known honourable Booking Agency, Cheyenne Productions,
an agency which
made it possible for Berry to play his most successful European Touring years
during his 50+ years
career. Cheyenne Productions has since then tried to reach Berry on several
occasions. On each
attempt the Rock’n’Roll pioneer has refused to talk about the issue but was
only interested to talk
about his next November 2008 tour, which seems now to be improbable. Last week,
Cheyenne Productions
reimbursed the local European Promoters on its own expenses. The agency which
has lost more than
150,000 USD due to Berry’s wrong activities sees no other choice but to sue
Chuck Berry to claim
legally for the money back.
Support
for the agency also comes from longtime fans such as Wolfgang Guhl from
Germany,
who edits the longest running Chuck Berry website www.chuckberry.de, having
himself seen Chuck Berry
70 times in concert: “It is well known that Berry is a difficult character, by
mistreating his own agent,
promoters, medias and fans and on top of that using his own brother’s death as
an excuse for his own management,
he reaches an absolute low-point in his career which I & many other fans
cannot accept. A great Chuck’s follower
” Niek van de Klundert from Holland who has seen Berry on countless occasions
adds: “It is a shame for
a legend like Chuck Berry to end his career on such a sad note.”
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES CHEYENNE PRODUCTIONS CAN BE REACHED AT:
CHEYENNE PRODUCTIONS
Patrick Rocher
ChuckBerryconcerts@msn.com
CHEYENPROD@msn.com
tel 1 702 562 4103
fax 1 702 562 4001
US cell (1) 928 254 0665
European cell (33) 6 70 58 2302
South American cell (598) 98 61 70 50
skype # CHEYENPROD1
Cheyenne
Productions sues Chuck Berry
Wednesday, 13.
August 2008 - 23:03
Cheyenne Productions sues Chuck Berry
Cheyenne
Productions has reimbursed local promoters of Chuck Berry in Toulouse, Malaga
and Carraceldo
on its own expense. Chuck Berry, who at this point still does not want to
cooperate, will as of
today be sued by his longtime agent Cheyenne Productions for all costs and
damages caused by the
cancellation of European shows in July 2008.
Little Richard
releases new record
Tuesday, 12.
August 2008 - 19:52
Tracks & Artist List: 1. Silver Springs -- Patty Loveless 2. Lay Down Sally -- Delbert McClinton 3. Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys -- Lucinda Williams 4. You Better Move On -- Levon Helm 5. Life Has Its Little Ups And Downs -- Raul Malo 6. I Ain't Never -- Little Richard 7. I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore -- Randy Travis 8. You've Got To Fight For Your Right To Party -- Big & Rich 9. What A Difference A Day Makes -- Willie Nelson 10. Give Back The Key To My Heart -- Dwight Yoakam 11. What Happened -- Bekka Bramlett 12. Welfare Music -- John Hiatt 13. A Satisfied Mind -- Vince Gill
Source: Timo Reijola
Chuck Berry
shows in Istanbul & Boleslawiec have been cancelled!
Monday, 11.
August 2008 - 18:27
Due to contractual reasons the following shows have been cancelled:
15.08.08 - Istanbul, Turkey - Parkorman
16.08.08 - Boleslawiec, Poland - Blues Rock Festival
Refunds
available at point of purchase. An official statement
from local promoters will follow shortly.
The
status of Chuck Berry's European Tour November 2008
remains "tentative" until further notice.
UPDATES
Saturday, 09.
August 2008 - 12:00
UPCOMING CHUCK BERRY EUROPEAN DATES
CHANGE STATUS
FROM "CONFIRMED" TO "TENTATIVE"!
JERRY
LEE LEWIS TOUR INFORMATION 1988 UPDATED!
THANKS TO THOMAS RUND!
The Future Of
Chuck Berry's European Touring Business
Tuesday, 05.
August 2008 - 18:29
After countless
attempts to reach Chuck Berry Patrick Rocher
finally succeded to talk to Chuck Berry yesterday.
First of all Chuck Berry does not want to reimburse his longtime agent.
But he made him the offer to deduct the stolen money from his
fees of November Tour. Certainly a serious business man would
transfer the money back immediately, but this is still better
than going through a court battle which can take up to three years.
November Tour is therefore confirmed, but further tours are
very unlikely to happen as this behaviour is no basis to work on.
A statement and/or apology was at no point offered by Chuck Berry.
As of now it is unsure what will happen to dates in Istanbul & Boleslawiec
(August 2008)
and Toulouse (March 2009). To keep track with this and latest developments
on November Legends Of Rock'n'Roll concerts featuring Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee
Lewis
and Little Richard visit www.chuckberry.de.
The
Chuck Berry International Directory Volume 1 out now!
Tuesday, 05.
August 2008 - 18:29
This title is for the heavyweight Berry fan. It contains everything you ever wanted to know about Chuck Berry, in four enormous volumes compiled by the world-renowned Norwegian Berry collector and authority, Morten Reff. It is comprehensively annotated, with dozens of illustrations of rare record labels and sleeves, previously unpublished photos, etc. This volume contains: USA Discography; UK Discography; International Discographies (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, East Germany, Finland, France, (West) Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Yugoslavia).
Order now at www.amazon.co.uk!
Added to Recommended Berry Material
Source: Morten Reff
House Of Rock
Tuesday, 05. August 2008 -
18:29
House of rock
It was, however, Berry's home from 1950 to
1958, a time when he recorded hits that made him rock royalty:
"Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Johnny B.
Goode."
Legally, a place on the National Register would not do much to protect the
modest house. It still
could be torn down or sold. Yet landing on the prestigious list could spur
preservation by making
certain tax credits available.
If nothing else, it would help cement Berry's place as one St. Louis' most
famous residents.
"Something very important happened there," said Lindsey Derrington, a
researcher with the Landmarks
Association of St. Louis, which prepared the nomination to the National
Register. "That's a piece
of our musical history."
Berry bought the home shortly before the birth of his daughter, Darlin, he says
in his autobiography.
The family lived in the basement so they could rent the upstairs for extra
income.
On Friday, Berry — who still performs but seldom makes public appearances
otherwise — visited the house,
taking a trip down memory lane.
"Oh, yeah," said Berry, wearing a captain's hat and bolo tie. "I
remember it well."
Berry, still spry and sinewy even as an octogenarian, gave the house a once-over.
Everything except the
tree in front, planted after he left, looked pretty much the same, he said.
He recalled how much he bought it for in 1950 — $4,500 — and the work he put
in.
"I had that awning put up," said Berry, which would explain the faded
"B" on the exterior.
The house is in the section of the city known as the Greater Ville, just a duck
walk away from where
other African-American entertainment pioneers — Redd Foxx, Tina Turner —
also called home.
Some on Whittier Street today still remember Berry's time there, but the details
— Did he drive a Cadillac?
Or a motorcycle? — have evaporated into neighborhood lore.
"I'd see him coming and going in and out of the house," said Gloria
Reeves, 71, whose family has lived
on Whittier since 1949.
Still, it doesn't appear he spent much time in the neighborhood. When Berry
wasn't touring, he was working
nights at venues such as the Cosmo Club in East St. Louis. But neighbors did
hear him on the guitar,
practicing his signature country-meets-rock sound.
"You would hear music coming up from his basement," recalled Gwendolyn
"Genie" Hodges, 70, who lived on
the street at the time.
On July 28, the city's Preservation Board unanimously backed the home's
inclusion on the National Register.
The state preservation board, which also must support the bid, has the
nomination on its agenda for
a meeting Friday.
Final federal approval, though, could be tricky.
A spokeswoman for the National Park Service, which administers the historical
register, says the listing
does not typically recognize individuals who are living or still working.
Berry, 81, is both.
The St. Louis Landmarks Association is hoping to work around that by showing
Berry's "reputation is
thoroughly established" and that the songs he recorded while living on
Whittier have been woven into
the fabric of American culture.
In other words, that Berry is a living legend.
The argument is an easy one to make for Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill,
where Berry still performs
each month in a venue — the Duck Room — named for his trademark gait.
"Worldwide, he's probably better known than anybody else in St.
Louis," Edwards said.
Berry still calls the area home, splitting his time between Ladue and
"Berry Park," his Wentzville retreat.
Back on Whittier Street, his old home now is in the hands of a Utah real estate
company, Kimber Investments,
that specializes in foreclosure properties.
Company official Josh Gomm said he heard from a neighbor about the house's
lineage but wasn't sure whether
to believe it.
Now that he knows more, Gomm said he's open to selling it to someone who will
appreciate its value.
"I'm not a Chuck Berry fan," Gomm said. "But if somebody out
there really wants the house, I would love
to have them have it."
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
B.B. King
releases new album
Tuesday, 05. August 2008 -
18:29
B.B. King is set
to release a new album - "One Kind Favor" Features Classic Blues Songs
Santa Monica, California, July 22, 2008 – The King of the Blues is set to
release a new album featuring covers
of old blues songs from B.B. King’s early influences. With production by T
Bone Burnett (Robert Plant &
Alison Krauss, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello) the set revisits the music that
influenced B.B. in the 1950s,
the beginning of King’s extraordinary professional journey that, literally,
changed the texture of modern
blues playing. One Kind Favor will be released on Geffen Records August 26th.
Recorded at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, CA One Kind Favor is meant to
sound like an album recorded
in the 50s. To get this sound Burnett and King replicated the kind of blues band
King had back in the day
bringing in some of the greats – Dr. John on piano, Nathan East on stand up
acoustic bass and Jim Keltner
on drums, to name a few. Studio conditions of the time were reproduced. The
result is a vintage sounding
album filled with the songs that influenced King in his early days as an artist.
The full track listing for One Kind Favor, along with the name of the artist who
originally recorded the track,
is:” See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (Lemon Jefferson), “I Get So Weary”
(T-Bone Walker), “Get These Blues Off Me”
(Lee Vida Walker), “How Many More Years” (Chester Burnett), “Waiting For
Your Call” (Oscar Lollie),
“My Love Is Down” (Lonnie Johnson), “The World Is Gone Wrong” ( Walter
Vinson, also known as Walter Jacobs,
and Lonnie Chatmon, core members of the Mississippi Sheiks), “Blues Before
Sunrise” (John Lee Hooker),
“Midnight Blues” (John Willie “Shifty” Henry), “Backwater Blues”
(Big Bill Broonzy), “Sitting On Top Of
The World” (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon) and “Tomorrow Night” (Lonnie
Johnson).
In other B.B. news, on September 13th King– one of the few musicians in the
world to be so honored – will preside
at the opening of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in his
hometown of Indianola, MS. Also in
September B.B. King will begin hosting his own weekly radio show on XM Radio on
their newly relaunched blues
channel “BB Kings Bluesville” (XM 74).
For more than 60 years, Riley B. King - better known as B.B. King - has defined
the blues for a worldwide audience.
Since he started recording in the 1940s, he has released over 50 albums, many of
them classics, won 14 Grammy® Awards,
been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame and received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of the Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, the
Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award
and the NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) Chairman’s
Award, among many other awards. In a
special ceremony at the Library of Congress, Librarian of Congress, James H.
Billington presented B.B. with a
“Living Legend” medal in honor of his achievements as a musician and
ambassador for the blues. After 10,000 concerts,
B.B. King continues to bring his music to audiences around the globe spending
the better part of each year on the
road with his beloved guitar, “Lucille.”
Source: The Official B.B. King Website