Chuck Berry has died. May he rest in peace.
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I will write an extensive tribute later.
He was a Founding Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
He was a Rock ‘n’ Roll Prophet and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Poet.
He was a writer with the immediate understanding of a top class journalist, the widescreen vision of an historian and the timing of a comedian on the stage.
He is one of the greatest chroniclers of American Life.
Hail, Hail, Hail Chuck Berry!
Here he is with a special favourite of mine, ‘School Days’
‘Up in the mornin’ and out to school
The teacher is teachin’ the Golden Rule
American history and practical math
You study’ em hard and hopin’ to pass
Workin’ your fingers right down to the bone
And the guy behind you won’t leave you alone
Ring ring goes the bell
The cook in the lunchroom’s ready to sell
You’re lucky if you can find a seat
You’re fortunate if you have time to eat
Back in the classroom open you books
Gee but the teacher don’t know
How mean she looks
Soon as three o’clock rolls around
You finally lay your burden down
Close up your books, get out of your seat
Down the halls and into the street
Up to the corner and ’round the bend
Right to the juke joint you go in
Drop the coin right into the slot
You gotta hear something that’s really hot
Drop the coin right into the slot
You gotta hear something that’s really hot
Hail, hail rock’n’roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Long live rock’n’roll
The beat of the drum is loud and bold
Rock rock rock’n’roll
The feelin’ is there body and soul’
The lyric above is the best teaching aide anyone could ever have if they wanted an example of great Rock ‘n’Roll Songwriting.
Consider the rhythmic flow of the words and music.
Consider the sociological acuity of the observations.
‘The guy behind you won’t leave you alone‘. Don’t you just know that guy!
‘Gee but the teacher don’t know How mean she looks’.
Teachers never do, never do!
‘Down the halls and into the street
Up to the corner and ’round the bend
Right to the juke joint you go in
Drop the coin right into the slot
You gotta hear something that’s really hot’
Now that’s writing! A whole generation and way of life captured perfectly.
‘With the one you love you’re makin’ romance
All day long you been
Wantin’ to dance
Feelin’ the music from head to toe
‘Round and ’round and ’round you go’
All day long you been wantin’ to dance. All day long!
Rock ‘n’ Roll swept The World because it did make you feel the music from head to toe and because what in the world could possible beat the feeling of makin’ romance with the one you love!
Round and round and round you go!
Chuck Berry set The World spinning and some of us are spinning still!
‘Hail, hail rock’n’roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Long live rock’n’roll
The beat of the drum is loud and bold
Rock rock rock’n’roll
The feelin’ is there body and soul’
And that Baby is Rock ‘n’ Roll!
With his thrilling guitar, his poetic words and his sleek charisma Chuck did indeed deliver us from the days of old.
Thank you Chuck for the feeling – body and soul.
The Immortal Jukebox 
As we wake up to a world without Chuck Berry, we have lost a tangible link to the very birth of rock’n’roll. Chuck Berry was the man. Elvis was the white man who could sound black, Chuck was the black man who could sound white. Together they ensured rock’n’roll would never be just a fad. Chuck Berry was a one off. Imagine in the racially divided US of the 1950s what it took for an African American to become the voice of teenage white America. He had a unique ability to express the feelings and emotions of being young at that special time and place where for the first time young people started to have a voice and make it heard. “School Days” remains to me, the most perfect encapsulation of what it felt like to be a school student. Who hasn’t related to “as soon as three o’clock rolls around, it’s time to lay you burden down”?
I have been incredibly fortunate in my life to have had an amazing array of musical experiences, including seeing The Angels (or Keystone Angels as they were then) support Chuck Berry at the Hordern Pavillion around 1974. But nothing really compares to one magical moment in 2001. I was lucky enough to be on a darkened stage in St Louis while Chuck Berry was doing the soundcheck for a show later that night for his 75th birthday. The only people in the room were the band, the promoter, Chuck Berry and me. After getting the feel of the band, he sat on a stool and played blues to an empty hall. It’s still impossible to find the words to convey just how special this moment was. For me, it was like being thrust back to the very birth of rock’n’roll, and in an instant, I realised just how much Chuck Berry sacrificed for his success. At heart, he was a blues player. The blues just flowed from his fingers as I watched absolutely enchanted. I have an old 78 I still use for teaching. It captures the two sides of Chuck Berry perfectly. On the “hit” side is School Days, a bonafide rock’n’roll classic, but on the B side is an instrumental called Deep Feeling, where he plays some of the most emotional, languid, spellbinding blues you could ever wish to hear. It doesn’t appear on any compilations, but I think it is probably as close as you’ll ever get to hearing Chuck Berry’s beating heart in music.
Chuck Berry’s legacy will be with us for another century at least. His songs live on in every kid who ever straps on a guitar, every band that takes those first tentative steps from the garage to the stage, in every one of us who has ever stood in front of a mirror strumming a cricket bat or tennis racquet. His sound is there when you play The Beatles or Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen. On another grey day on the east coast of Australia, play a little Chuck Berry and remember one of the true originals, one of the greatest musicians to ever strap on a guitar, and one of the lifeblood sources of rock’n’roll. Rest in peace Chuck, you will never be forgotten.
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Thanks so much Bernie for this lyrical memoir.
Regards Thom.
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Great stuff Thom. These are my memories from my Facebook post.
As we wake up to a world without Chuck Berry, we have lost a tangible link to the very birth of rock’n’roll. Chuck Berry was the man. Elvis was the white man who could sound black, Chuck was the black man who could sound white. Together they ensured rock’n’roll would never be just a fad. Chuck Berry was a one off. Imagine in the racially divided US of the 1950s what it took for an African American to become the voice of teenage white America. He had a unique ability to express the feelings and emotions of being young at that special time and place where for the first time young people started to have a voice and make it heard. “School Days” remains to me, the most perfect encapsulation of what it felt like to be a school student. Who hasn’t related to “as soon as three o’clock rolls around, it’s time to lay you burden down”?
I have been incredibly fortunate in my life to have had an amazing array of musical experiences, including seeing The Angels (or Keystone Angels as they were then) support Chuck Berry at the Hordern Pavillion around 1974. But nothing really compares to one magical moment in 2001. I was lucky enough to be on a darkened stage in St Louis while Chuck Berry was doing the soundcheck for a show later that night for his 75th birthday. The only people in the room were the band, the promoter, Chuck Berry and me. After getting the feel of the band, he sat on a stool and played blues to an empty hall. It’s still impossible to find the words to convey just how special this moment was. For me, it was like being thrust back to the very birth of rock’n’roll, and in an instant, I realised just how much Chuck Berry sacrificed for his success. At heart, he was a blues player. The blues just flowed from his fingers as I watched absolutely enchanted. I have an old 78 I still use for teaching. It captures the two sides of Chuck Berry perfectly. On the “hit” side is School Days, a bonafide rock’n’roll classic, but on the B side is an instrumental called Deep Feeling, where he plays some of the most emotional, languid, spellbinding blues you could ever wish to hear. It doesn’t appear on any compilations, but I think it is probably as close as you’ll ever get to hearing Chuck Berry’s beating heart in music.
Chuck Berry’s legacy will be with us for another century at least. His songs live on in every kid who ever straps on a guitar, every band that takes those first tentative steps from the garage to the stage, in every one of us who has ever stood in front of a mirror strumming a cricket bat or tennis racquet. His sound is there when you play The Beatles or Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen. On another grey day on the east coast of Australia, play a little Chuck Berry and remember one of the true originals, one of the greatest musicians to ever strap on a guitar, and one of the lifeblood sources of rock’n’roll. Rest in peace Chuck, you will never be forgotten.
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Absolutely. Chuck Berry was a magnificent urban poet, pioneering guitarist and great showman.
Music-wise, he recycled most of “School Days” into “No Particular Place to Go” seven years later, which might be better known.
It’s another superb lyric and, er, underlines the importance of safety belts in modern car safety.
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