Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (18 October 1926 – 18 March 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, Poet and songwriter, and a pioneer of rock and roll music.

Quotes



 * I wanted to write about school because most of my audience at the particular time was of a school element.
 * Introducing "School Days" on The History of Rock and Roll, (1978), Hour 1: "The Birth of Rock & Roll"

Song lyrics
Gonna put a false charge again ya That'll be the very thing that'll send ya I'm gonna see that you be back home in thirty=-= days
 * Baby I'm gonna see that you be back home in thirty days
 * "Thirty Days" (1955)

I saw Maybellene in a Coup de Ville A Cadillac arollin' on the open road Nothin' will outrun my V8 Ford The Cadillac doin' about ninety-five She's bumper to bumper, rollin' side by side Maybellene
 * As I was motivatin' over the hill
 * "Maybellene" (1955); this song was also credited by the record company to other "co-composers", in what has been generally accepted as a form of "payola".

and the jukebox blows a fuse My heart's beatin' rhythm and my soul keeps on singin' the blues Roll Over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news
 * You know, my temperature's risin'
 * "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956) · Live performance

Wipe the windows - check the tires - check the oil - dollar gas! Too much monkey business. Too much monkey business. Don't want your botheration, get away, leave me! Too much monkey business for me!
 * Workin' in the fillin' station - too many tasks.
 * "Too Much Monkey Business" (1956)

It custom-made, 'twas a Flight De Ville With a pow'ful motor and some hideaway wings Push in on the button and you can hear her sing Now you can't catch me, baby you can't catch me 'Cause if you get too close, you know I'm gone like a cool breeze
 * I bought a brand-new air-mobile
 * "You Can't Catch Me" (1956)

Long live rock and roll; the beat of the drums, loud and bold. Rock, rock, rock and roll; the feelin' is there, body and soul.
 * Hail, hail rock and roll; deliver me from the days of old.
 * "School Days" (1957), Pop Chronicles Show 6 - Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway. Part 2

Me wonder when the boat she come To bring me love, oh sweet little thing She rock 'n' roll, she dance and sing She hold me tight, she touch me lips Me eyes they close, me heart she flip Havana moon, Havana moon
 * Me still alone, me sip on the rum
 * "Havana Moon" (1957)

When bells ring out the summer free Oh baby doll! Will it end for you and me? We'll sing our old Alma Mater And think of things that used to be
 * Baby doll!
 * "Oh Baby Doll" (1957)

Them Georgia folks they had a jamboree They’re drinking home brew from a wooden cup The folks dancing there got all shook up.
 * Way down South they gave a jubilee
 * "Rock and Roll Music" (1957)

Goin' around and around Well, reelin' and a rockin' What a crazy sound Well, they never stopped rockin' Till the moon went down
 * Hey, the band was rockin'
 * "Around and Around" (1957)

She had the world in the palm of her hand. But she lost both her arms in a wrestling match, To get a brown eyed handsome man.
 * Milo Venus was a beautiful lass,
 * "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (1958), Pop Chronicles Show 5 - Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway. Part 1.

I said, "Dance ballerina girl, go go go!" And we rolled, reelin' and a rockin' We was reelin' and a rockin' Rollin' till the break of dawn
 * Well I looked at my watch, it was 9:54
 * "Reelin' and Rockin"' (1958)

Tight dresses and lipstick She’s sportin’ high-heeled shoes Oh but tomorrow morning She’ll have to change her trend And be sweet sixteen And back in class again.
 * She’s got the grownup blues
 * "Sweet Little Sixteen" (1958)

Way back up in the woods among the evergreens There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode Who never ever learned to read or write so well But he could play the guitar just like a ringing a bell. Go, go, Go, Johnny go...
 * Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
 * "Johnny B. Goode" (1958) · Live performance (1958)

And you will be the leader of a big old band. Many people coming from miles around To hear you play your music when the sun go down. Maybe someday your name will be in lights Saying 'Johnny B. Goode tonight'."
 * His mother told him, "Someday you will be a man,
 * "Johnny B. Goode" (1958)

I'm gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day
 * Oh Carol, don't let him steal your heart away
 * "Carol" (1958)

Leo covered Jo Jo with all four feet Jo Jo was screamin' with tears in his eyes Said," Please Mr. Leo, I apologize"
 * Just like a bolt of thunder and a streak of heat
 * "Joe Joe Gun" (1958) ( aka "Jo Jo Gunne") *traditional, new lyrics by Chuck Berry

Swingin' like a pendulum, walkin' down the aisle Deep romantic eyes, speak so low in miles Maybe she will settle down and marry after a while
 * Beautiful Delilah, dressed in the latest style
 * "Beautiful Delilah" (1958)

Her daddy don’t have to scold her, her mother can’t hardly hold her She never gets any older, sweet little rock and roller
 * Sweet little rock and roller, sweet little rock and roller
 * "Sweet Little Rock and Roller" (1958)

Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call 'Cause my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
 * Long distance information, give me Memphis Tennessee
 * "Memphis, Tennessee" (1959) ( aka "Memphis")

Lookin' like a model on the cover of the magazine She's too cute to be a minute over seventeen Mean while I was still thinkin' If it's a slow song we'll omit it If it's a rocker, that we'll get it And if it's good, she'll admit it C'mon Queenie, let's get with it
 * Tell me who's the queen standin' over by the record machine
 * "Little Queenie" (1959)

They ain't said I broke no rule. I ain't never been in Dutch. I don't browse around too much Don't bother me leave me alone Anyway I'm almost grown
 * Yeah 'n' I'm doin' all right in school.
 * "Almost Grown" (1959)

From the coast of California to the shores of The Delaware Bay You can bet your life I did, till I got back in the U.S.A.
 * Did I miss the skyscrapers, did I miss the long freeway?
 * "Back in the U.S.A." (1959)

All day I been waiting for the whistle to blow Sitting in a teepee built right on the tracks Rolling them bones until the foreman comes back Pick up you belongings boys and scatter about We've got an off-schedule train comin' two miles out
 * Later in the evening when the sun is sinking low
 * "Let It Rock" (1960)

And buying Johnnys guitar at the broker shop As long as he would play it by the railroad side And wouldn't get in trouble, he was satisfied But never thought that there would come a day like this When she would have to give her son a goodbye kiss Going bye, bye, bye, bye Bye, bye, bye, bye Bye, bye Johnny Bye, bye Johnny B. Goode
 * She remembered taking money out from gathering crop
 * "Bye Bye Johnny" (1960)

And waved "Goodbye, Jaguar" and pulled in the lead Jaguar said, "You ain't won the race yet" And pulled back around the Bird like a sabre jet Sheriff's front bumper was a yard behind When the T-Bird, Jaguar crossed the line
 * Thunderbird saw the Jaguar gainin' speed
 * "Jaguar and Thunderbird" (1960)

I met her walkin' down a uptown street She's so fine you know I wished she was mine I get shook up every time we meet
 * Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know
 * "I'm Talking About You" (1961)

I don't mean maybe, come on I'm tryin' to make you see That I belong to you and you belong to me
 * So come on, I wanna see you baby, come on
 * "Come On" (1961)

Oh, Nadine, honey is that you? Seems like every time I see you Darling, you got something else to do
 * Nadine, honey is that you?
 * "Nadine (Is It You?)" (1964)

And Hollywood is waiting, to see the way she swings. She'll be graduating, goin' on to higher things, The little girl from Central is gonna take on wings.
 * The little girl's creative, a repertoire that rings,
 * "Little Girl from Central" (1964)

So we parked way out on the Kokomo The night was young and the moon was bold So we both decided to take a stroll Can you imagine the way I felt? I couldn't unfasten her safety belt!
 * No particular place to go,


 * "No Particular Place to Go" (1964)

Seven hundred little records, all rock, rhythm and jazz But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell
 * They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
 * "You Never Can Tell" (1964)

Tidewater four ten o nine Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin' And the poor boy's on the line
 * Los Angeles give me Norfolk Virginia
 * "Promised Land" (1964)

See what I can see, Try to find a Cadillac, A Sixty-two or three. Just something that won't worry us To keep it on the road. Sincerely, your beloved son, Henry Junior Ford
 * Well Dad, send the money,
 * "Dear Dad" (1965)

I would love to ride you, I would love to ride you downtown Drive you so slow and easy you won't wanna put me down
 * So let me be your driver, let me be your driver
 * "I Want to Be Your Driver" (1965)

Back under the counter was the cream of the crop Everything was clickin’ and the business was good Till one day, lo and behold, an officer stood Johnny jumped the counter but he stumbled and fell But Tulane made it over Johnny just as he yelled Go head on, Tulane, he can’t catch up with you Go Tulane, he ain’t man enough for you Go Tulane, use all the speed you got Go Tulane, you know you need a lot Go Tulane, he’s laggin’ behind Go head on, Tulane
 * Tulane and Johnny opened a novelty shop
 * "Tulane" (1970)

She's too alive to try to live alone And I know her needs And although she loves me She's gonna try to make it While the poor boy's gone Somebody should tell her to live And I'll understand it And even love her more When I come back home
 * Ow! Have mercy on my little Tulane
 * "Have Mercy Judge" (1970)

Stand here, sing to you Brings back so many memories Many things we used to do ‘Till I see you here again Take care, good luck to you
 * Can’t help it, but I love it
 * "Bio" (1973)

Soon I'll be with you watching your sunset in the evening Movies and show plays, beaches and free ways California, from my home I'll be leaving
 * California, California
 * "California" (1979)

Yes, yes, yes, yes When I was little bitty boy If I would have known what makes a world go 'round I would have known what goes up must come down If you love me like I love you Mademoiselle, je vous aime, voulez-vous?
 * I was looking for joy
 * "Big Boys" (2017)

And it blew my mind when she smiled and said hello But it broke my heart when she told me it's time to go
 * I feel good, like it's party time, don't you know
 * "Wonderful Woman" (2017)

Till he got so popular they made him a star Then she could only see him on a TV screen And hoped someday that he'd come back to New Orleans Everybody liked her and was knocking on wood But soon there came a baby for Lady B. Goode
 * She followed him around where he played his guitar
 * "Lady B. Goode" (2017)

Quotes about Chuck Berry

 * Sorted alphabetically by author or source


 * I learned more from Chuck Berry about America than I could have from the U.S. Information Service in London.
 * Eric Burdon, Pop Chronicles Show 5 - Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway. Part 1, interview recorded 11.20.1967


 * Chuck Berry is the greatest of the rock and rollers. Elvis competes with Frank Sinatra, Little Richard camps his way to self-negation, Fats Domino looks old, and Jerry Lee Lewis looks down his noble honker at all those who refuse to understand that Jerry Lee has chosen to become a great country singer.
 * Robert Christgau, in "Chuck Berry" in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll (1976) edited by Jim Miller


 * If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.
 * John Lennon, on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972; also quoted in John Lennon: In His Own Words (2005) by Ken Lawrence, p. 107


 * Send more Chuck Berry.
 * Steve Martin's character, a psychic named Cocuwa, predicting that the cover of Time for the upcoming week will show these four words, which supposedly had been sent to Earth the week before from extraterrestrials, after they had listened to a Voyager Golden Record, in a Saturday Night Live segment ("Next Week in Review") in episode 64, during the show's third season.


 * While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together.
 * "Today in Rock: Chuck Berry is Born (October 18)" at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, RockHall.com


 * In his 1958 masterpiece “Johnny B. Goode,” Berry created the ultimate rock-and-roll folk hero in just a few snappy verses. As we all know, Goode wasn’t pounding a piano, singing into a microphone, or blowing a sax. In his choice of the electric guitar, something sleek and of the moment, the fictional character of Goode would forge an image of the archetypal rocker, doing as much to shape the history of the instrument as any real-life figure ever has. The song’s opening riff is a clarion call — perhaps the greatest intro in rock-and-roll history. It was played by Berry on an electric Gibson ES-350T, and it indeed sounded “just like a-ringin’ a bell.”
 * Brad Tolinski and Alan Di Perna, in Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound & Revolution of the Electric Guitar (2016); also excerpted in "How Chuck Berry Wrote “Johnny B. Goode” and Created the First Rock and Roll Guitar Hero" in Guitar World (18 March 2017)