News Archive

New picture added to the Picture Gallery
Wednesday, 30. January 2002 - 14:11


Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Corrected Lyrics
Saturday, 26. January 2002 - 08:27


Source: Rick Bergemann

Chuck Berry and Little Richard at "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno"
Saturday, 26. January 2002 - 08:27


Jan 24th 2002. Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
A five minute performance on a late night talk show might not seem enough to 
warrant a review, but when its a first-time pairing of two of rocks founding fathers, 
then thats a different story.
Chuck Berry and Little Richard, promoting their upcoming performance at the Universal 
Amphitheatre two days later appeared on the show together. Jay Leno introduced them 
by mentioning that appearance, and an upcoming one at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, 
and saying this was their.."first time ever performing together on TV........". Their gig at 
the Universal , Jan 26th, is being billed at their first time ever performing together, so 
thats why Leno probably made the TV reference, as to not interfere with the Universal plug.
So with Lenos intro of ..."heres Chuck Berry and Little Richard".........we see Little Richard to 
the left, in a shirt like the American flag, and in the center was Chuck with a cool red shirt, 
and his now ever present sailors hat. They were backed by Richards regular band, and also 
Jim Marsala, Chucks long time bassist.
The band kicked into "Keep a Knockin". The press release had stated they were going to do 
Chucks "Back In The USA". Richard cranked on the keyboards, and Chuck strummed along on guitar. 
Richard did his usual yelps and yips, and howls. It seemed Richard was trying to take over the spotlight. 
He kept looking up into the monitors to make sure he was in prime camera location. His horn player got 
a lot of tv time too, as he took an extended solo, briefly going up into the audience.
Richard kept yowling and yelping. Dont think he was doing it on purpose. He just cant help it. Richard is 
a parody of himself. He seems to be more interested in "being Little Richard", than getting onstage and 
showing his musical chops. Im sure he can still do it, but hed rather spend alot of time of saying shut up 
to the audience. Heck he wont even do his two biggest hits anymore. On one he has his horn player sing it, 
and on the other, he only does the chorus. Guessing having to do with his religous side. He needs to make 
the money, so he needs to the hits, but then again he doesnt want to comprimise his beliefs. But thats 
my small editorial on that.....back to the jam.......
Knockin' ended, and then Chuck kicked into Back In The USA. He sang lead, with Richards horn players 
singing backup. Richard was up in front kinda just dancing around and warbling something in the mic. 
Clearly trying to hog the action. Chuck remained cool and calm, trying to sing louder, to have his 
moment.
Only those two know for sure, but it seemed they wre trying stay ahead of each other, if you know what 
I mean. Richard, gyrating, and more yelping, Chuck, trying to sing ouder, with emphasis. Chuck even 
encouraging Richard at one point to "play your piano"......either to keep it rockin, or I think to get him 
to shut up, and give Chuck a chance. Chuck was even doing a little back and forth with his guitar and 
Richards piano, for an oh-so brief moment. That was cool. As the song was winding down, and Richard 
was doing his thing, Chuck threw in a little Johnny B Goode at the end, just singing ...."Go Johnny Go Go"........a few times, 
I think to try and say "Hey this was supposed to be a duo kinda thing". 
He even threw in a quick duckwalk.
Chuck then lifted his leg up in the air, to end the song, and it kinda staggered to a stop. I dont think they 
rehearsed too much, as it wasnt a clean finish. Again, not to demean Richard, I just think he spends too much 
time trying to put on the "act". That might be ok for Vegas, but it looks like he is hiding behind that 80 member 
band (ok it SEEMS like that many, does he really NEED two drummers?).
He needs to tone down the makeup, Strip down the band, and go back to the basics. Hmmmm, Just like 
Chuck does! Chuck is no angel, we all know hes in it JUST for the cash. But at least hes honest about it, 
and when the planets all aligned, he still rocks the dump.
So that was the show. Im also going to the gig on Sat, so Im curious how it will go if they do perform toether. 
If so, I think it will be completely different, with no TV cameras.
I had my VCR rolling, so if anyone wants a copy, email me, and Ill see what we can do.
Jeff Staudinger Anaheim Calif

Source: Jeff Staudinger

Chuck Berry and Little Richard performing together for the first time ever
Thursday, 24. January 2002 - 16:35


Chuck Berry and Little Richard are performing together at:

24.01.02 - Burbank, CA - Tonight Show With Jay Leno
26.01.02 - Universal City, CA - Universal Amphitheatre

---

"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (January 24th 2002)

2203 - MICHELLE PFEIFFER, DR. PHIL McGRAW,

CHUCK BERRY & LITTLE RICHARD  01/24/02


Guests include actress Michelle Pfeiffer, Dr. Phil McGraw and music by Chuck Berry and 
Little Richard. TV-14

Rock'n'roll legends Chuck Berry and Little Richard are teaming up for a pair of appearances.
First the duo will show up Jan. 24 on NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," where they 
are set to perform Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." Two nights later, they will play what's being 
billed as a "Legends Concert" at Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheatre. While the two have 
performed on the same bill in the past, they have never before performed a song together, 
according to Little Richard, and have not yet determined what songs they will collaborate on 
during the Legends Concert. Tickets for that show, which is sponsored by L.A. radio outlet 
K-EARTH 101 FM, are available via Ticketmaster. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Source: Jeff Staudinger

New published article about the new album
Monday, 21. January 2002 - 13:13


SWEET LITTLE SEVENTY-FIVE

Issue of 2002-01-21
Posted 2002-01-14

It was not precisely a secret that Chuck Berry spent much of last spring in a place 
called the Four Seasons studio, not far from the airport in St. Louis, his home town. 
But few people besides family members and friends were aware that he was recording his 
first studio album in almost twenty-five years, or that the album, which will be released in 
early summer, will include a dozen new songs.

One day not long ago, Berry took a break from recording and drove from the Interbelt industrial 
park, where the studio is situated, to a nearby Wendy's. He drives a silver Toyota Avalon XL, 
with a string of purple Mardi Gras beads swaying from the rearview mirror. He wore a bolo tie with a 
black silk casino jacket and his trademark sailor's cap. "It keeps the sun out of my eyes," he said. 
"Baseball caps are better, but Chuck Berry is no hip-hop salesman."

Berry, who is seventy-five, lives in a stone manor house in Ladue, a suburb inhabited mainly by 
Monsanto and Anheuser-Busch executives. He stays in shape by lifting bricks, mowing the lawn, 
and working in his carpenter's shed. Once a month, he performs in the basement of Blueberry Hill, 
a music venue near Washington University that is owned by his friend Joe Edwards, and he still follows 
the St. Louis Cardinals. It's a low-key sort of life for a publicly angry man who spent three years in 
reform school after an armed-robbery conviction in his teens, and who, in his thirties, served twenty 
months for violating the Mann Act.

When he arrived at Wendy's, two young fans approached, carrying yellow napkins to be autographed. 
Berry obliges autograph seekers, who are mostly white college kids; he usually draws a smiley face next 
to his signature. At the counter, he asked for a double cheeseburger, chili, fries, and a Frosty. "France has 
the worst restaurants of all," he said. "They have scrawny chickens in their windows and serve horrible onion 
soup that tastes like dishwater. And then the European press has the nerve to say I'm difficult. Man, there is 
nothing funny about being hungry in a foreign land and reporters asking you dumb questions about your hits. 
Of course you're going to snap. Do you know what I miss over there? Chili, steaks, pork, oatmeal, buttermilk, 
and good hamburgers. My dad used to grow vegetables when I was young: cucumbers, squash, tomatoes—you name it. 
The vegetables in Europe don't compare."

He brought the food in a bag back to the studio, and as he ate he talked about the new album. 
A song entitled "Big Boys" seems likeliest to get radio play, and might well become the vehicle for 
Berry's first music video. Like many of his songs, "Big Boys" takes issue with pecking orders, 
reminding us that today's teen nerd may someday be the guy who signs our checks. "I was 
participating in the Las Vegas life style when I wrote it, and thinking about winners and losers, 
how John Gotti's power went up and down," Berry recalled. "But, basically, I wrote the song for 
commercial purposes, to make money."

He appears to worry more about money than about his legacy. After lunch, he took a call from his 
longtime agent, Dick Alen. "Tomorrow night in Seattle?" Berry asked. "For how much?" He liked the figure 
quoted. "Book it and get me a morning flight." Jerry Lee Lewis had become ill and Berry had been asked 
to replace him. Berry has always been enterprising about playing to a broad audience. He learned a long 
time ago that just mentioning a city like Albuquerque or Birmingham or Houston in a song guaranteed the 
song relentless radio airplay in that city. Berry performs approximately eighty shows a year, and it distresses 
him that audiences want to hear only oldies.

Berry is a devotee of the digital age, and he's keeping a journal on his computer. He is infatuated with aromas 
and maintains a tally of them in his journal. For example: "The scent of burning oak leaves in October in Missouri; 
an oncoming breeze laden with the smell of mint plants; a Chinese restaurant while waiting in line for a table; 
a passing pipe smoker using rum-and-maple tobacco; the uncontaminated breasts of a female companion; 
the brewing of coffee in the winter; the interior of a new automobile I just purchased; and, although I detest 
the smell of liquor, somehow I'm carried asunder by the surprise of liquor on the breath of a strange lady."

This side of him is evident in "Darlin'," the most introspective song on the new record. It's a country-tinged 
ballad to his daughter Ingrid that begins, "Darlin', your father's growing older, I fear; strains of gray are 
showing bolder each year. Lay your head upon my shoulder, my dear: Time is fading fast away." He goes on 
to sing of death and tells how tired he's grown of playing his ancient hits and doing his trademark duckwalk 
for the pleasure of baby boomers. In record stores, his CDs are always in the "Vintage" section. "It's an insult," 
Berry said. "But this new album should help me bust out of that ghetto."

— Douglas Brinkley

Source: Glenn Robertson

Chuck Berry News hacked
Thursday, 10. January 2002 - 15:37


One of the greatest websites ever in Internet history, CHUCK BERRY NEWS,
edited by number one fan Johan Hasselberg from Sweden has been hacked.
Every Chuck Berry fan will certainly regret that. Here's a message from Johan to you:

Chuck Berry News don't exist any more. I really don't know, but I think
people has break up my accounts and deleted my website. These pages was
originally from 28nd May 1999 and comes to yahoo server in 2000. I had more
than 2000 hours work on it. The address was www.geocities.com/allaboard70
My email account is also deleted with all the addresses to my frends around
the world. If people want to have contact with me again, they must send
email to my new address: hasselberg75@hotmail.com


all the best wishes / Johan Hasselberg

Chuck Berry News
Box 156
SE-95222 Kalix
Sweden

Source: Johan Hasselberg

Little Richard replaced by Jerry Lee Lewis at New Year's Eve in Estoril, Portugal
Sunday, 06. January 2002 - 18:16


Little Richard's orginally planned New Year's Eve show in Estoril, Portugal has been cancelled. Richard was 
replaced by Jerry Lee Lewis. Check out these websites:

www.casino-estoril.pt
www.pratica.iol.pt/id44.html

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Artist of the Month
Saturday, 05. January 2002 - 12:44



K-EARTH 101
salutes
Chuck Berry


Born into a musical family that included three piano playing sisters and parents who sang in the church choir, Chuck Berry was around music from an early age. By the time he was seven he could pick out rhythms on the piano. During high school Chuck became interested in the guitar and began playing house parties and church functions.

In 1952, Chuck Berry formed his first group and began playing local clubs in St Louis. Berry was only playing music part time and was considering becoming a photographer or a hairdresser until his life was altered forever during a vacation to Chicago in May of 1955. In Chicago, Chuck met Muddy Waters who suggested that Chuck meet with the founder of Chess Records. Berry returned home to record his band and then returned to Chicago with a tape of four songs. The homemade tape reached Leonard Chess of Chess records and soon Chuck and his group were in Chicago recording. Chuck Berry's first release, "Maybellene" became a Top Twenty hit within a few weeks and influenced rock and roll for years to come with its rhyming lyrics, steady beat and guitar solo. Also, "Maybellene" crossed color lines in music and became equally popular with white audiences as well as African Americans.

Between the years of 1955 and 1958 there was constantly a Chuck Berry record in the weekly trade music papers; sometimes there were two different records on the charts at the same time. Songs like "Roll Over Beethoven", "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Johnny B. Goode," broke music and color barriers, making Chuck Berry one of the most successful and popular musicians of any race. During the late 1950's, Berry was making frequent film and television appearences and touring the United States.

By the 1960's, Chuck Berry's music had become popular in England, where it influenced fledgling rock musicians like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
During the 1970's and 80's Chuck Berry continuted to tour and record albums but at a slower pace. He released three albums in the 70's including Chuck Berry's Golden Decade, Vol 2 and Vol 3 and five albums in the 80's like Greatest Hits: Live and The Chess Box.
The 1990's saw the release of a slew of albums including Brown Eyed Hansome Man and Let It Rock.
In honor of his 75th birthday in 2001, Chess Records reissued Chuck Berry's 1963 classic, More Chuck Berry.

As one of the most influential performers in the history of rock and roll, Chuck Berry's music broke color walls and introduced the blues and rockabilly to pop music. Still performing and recording, Chuck Berry shows no signs of stopping and his music is being discovered by a new generation of fans.

For More information, visit the Offical Chuck Berry Web Site

Source: Wolfgang Guhl