This is exactly my first thought when this popped on my feed. I love Marty McFly's version in back to the future. Best part is when the band member who Marty is replacing calls up his cousin "chuck" and says "you know that sound you've been looking for, well listen to this" and he holds the phone up to the performance. Freaking awesome!
Little Richard always claimed the “originator” title but that’s debatable. Back in 1957/58 you had Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly. The term “Rock N Roll” had been used since 1946 but was an obscure term until the 50’s when Alan Freed (a disc jockey) used it a lot to describe this style of music.
This is why the scene in "Back to the Future" where Marty plays with the band and goes a little wild then tells everyone that their kids are gonna love this is so iconic.
I should apologize to you. I just posted that nobody mentions Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I didn't look far enough or closely enough. She was the Godmother of Rock and Roll in so many ways. #sorry
Partially agree,,swing and big band, led to the Jump Swing of acts like Louis Jordan which Bill Hailey is emulating. In terms of electric guitar all comes from Black bluesman for sure.
Yes! Some consider Great Balls of Fire the greatest Rock & Roll song ever written Shout out to Dazo for mentioning Blueberry Hill. Fats Domino was EPIC!
Little Richard , Tutti Frutti, long tall sally , Lucille. Ike Turner, rocket 59, Fats Domino, ain't that ashame , blueberry hill. Chuck Berry, no particuler place to go, hello Josephine, etc. Jerry Lee Lewis copied Little Richard's style.
@@elijahbethea6313 little Richard, another one i listened to when i was a boy 👌. Johnny Johnson was another, who was Chuck Berry's piano player. Chuck stole loads of licks off Johnny and transposed them to guitar 😁
Really? When Elvis, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and dozens more had huge hit Rock and Roll songs prior to Johnny B Goode? Chuck Berry had many prior hits including ''"Rock and Roll Music" the previous year. It's debatable, but Rocket 88 in 1951 is most often considered the 1st. By Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats with Ike Turner. Don't have to like him to give credit. The following I checked online for accuracy: Bill Haley & His Comets started playing Rock and Roll with a Rocket 88 cover in 1951. “Rock Around the Clock” was copyrighted by songwriters Max C. Freedman & James Myers in March 1953. The Comets recorded it in 1954. The song appeared in the movie "Blackboard Jungle" & quickly became the first huge Rock and Roll hit, #1 for 2 months. Bill Haley & His Comets were soon replaced with younger edgier artists like Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, etc... There's evidence Freedman who was 60 in 1953 wrote the song himself. I'm in my mid-50s myself & find that rather inspiring.
People are misunderstanding what was stated, rock around the clock was considered the start of the rock and roll era because it went to number 1 , no one ever said it was the first rock and roll song,
No one person started Rock and Roll. It was a vibe going around influenced by many things and different people put their spin on it. It was an evolution, not something born on one spot fully formed. All music is like that.
My Ding a Ling is a classic! I still remember hearing this as a kid when it came out! It`s a cute funny tale. Please react to the live version! You will love it! Keep On Rockin`.
My Ding a Ling, cute and funny! well I guess so, but not R&R, but playing with your Ding a Ling as you well know Dee, has a double meaning, Chuck Berry was so much more than that.
Chuck Berry is beyond "god" status. He influenced every rock guitarist that ever played. Remember, this is 1958. He didn't just rock the boat, he sank the damn thing.
@@roryrory5047 He would also put riders in his contracts that were virtually impossible for promoters to fulfill or the promoter would have to pay Berry a bonus. Things like asking for a certain piece of equipment that there were only three of in the country.
@@louiseasmith1336 Elvis was the first, in 1954. He opened the doors for Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Little Richard is on camera saying it was Elvis who really made his career, singing black people's music, so in other words it was fine to listen to it. Remember segregation was rife then, black people were second rate citizens. Elvis was white and if you watch his first appearances it was all white teenage girls screaming. Common sense really millions more white teenage girls and boys to buy the records and go to appearances as they were then. Elvis opened doors for many performers black and white. That is history. LONG LIVE THE KING ❤
Elvis stood by the back door of blues club and got his inspiration from black blues artists as well as country and gospel. I'm not sure you can pick a single performer who started rock n roll..The term was invented by a DJ. Carl Perkins, Elvis, Buddy Holly as well as Berry and Little Richard all added to the genre.
@@jennywren7822 he was first to copy the black players and was successful because he was white. Even he said he copied the black dance moves. But not the first to invent R+R
@@robertbeaulieu9386 Guess what? Elvis presley's initial sound was the fusion of white country and bluegrass with black blues. When you say just black music alone, you reveal racist tendencies.
I saw an interview with Chuck where he said he started to "duck walk" to try and hide the wrinkles in his (Rayon) suits from long hours on the road (remember, this is most bands, especially when up and coming, drove themselves in their own cars). It was a hit, so he incorporated it into his act.
Some things to keep in mind: this was EARLY, classic rock 'n roll, emerging out of the swing and big band eras. The sound hadn't fully developed yet. Audio recording technology was relatively primitive compared to today. To our modern ears, it can sound sketchy, tinny, and the instruments unbalanced with one another. Also, electric guitars back then were still relatively new and much of the "rock sound" hadn't even been invented yet! Modern rock guitar effects like distortion, overdrive, compressor, flanger, wah-wah etc. weren't a thing yet - the sound mostly just ran straight from the guitar into the amp. Tremolo and reverb were pretty much it. Drum kits were very basic for the most part. So yeah, if you're comparing this to say, Guns 'n Roses and confused that both are considered "Rock music", keep in mind that it's a broad category and realize that decades of musical evolution came after! S'all good though. ;)
Right! It was all new and wide open, and Chuck saw it and made it his. You can just look at the venue he’s playing and the audience. They’re dressed for classical or maybe formal jazz, and here comes Chuck Berry plugging in his electric guitar. They’d never seen anything like that, surely not in the concert hall, and really I give them credit for open minds, although as far as classic rock & roll goes, how can you get better than Chuck Berry playing “Johnny B Goode”, the quintessential song that set the form and structure that future rock & roll songs used?: two verses about a kid playing guitar, a double guitar solo, one more verse and a finish. Perfection.
I agree with a lot of what you’ve just written. However, I just want to clarify that although, yes, R’n’R was “emerging out of the swing and big band ERA”, it *was not* emerging *from* the swing and big band GENRES. R’n’R came from a fusion of (primarily) rhythm and blues with an element of blues, country, bluegrass and rockabilly.
Chuck Berry a lot of times traveled alone with just his guitar and would pick up a band to back him up at the venues he played at. The band would usually never have backed him up before and in some cases would never have heard him play. To make things even more difficult for the orchestra he improvised a lot as you just saw in this video. The orchestra just had to try to keep up. Luckily most had experience with playing jazz and had learned to adapt quickly.
@@caseyparker6375 I saw him play that way. In 1983 when I graduated high school, my dad took me and three of my buddies to see him play with the house band at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, “the world’s largest honky-tonk”. He opened with “Roll Over Beethoven”, the house band was good, and I loved it. Yep, he’d come in the back door carrying his guitar, go straight to the promoter to get paid, then walk on stage, plug in, and start playing. When he finished, he put the guitar in the case, left $1000 for the band and amps rental, walked out the back door, got in the rent car, and was gone.
Me personally I think alot of these reactors are lying their asses off to get views. If you have cable I'm pretty sure everyone has seen back to the future. If not they've been living under a rock.
Early rock came from blues. Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and all the others basically took blues, combined it with the swing genre and created Rock-N-Roll. You can hear it the the 12 bar blues progression and the walking bass line. Jazz came from blues. Basically most if not all western pop music came from blues.
Bruce Springsteen once said that the only show he'd pay to see was Chuck Berry. A vinyl of this song was put on the spaceship Voyager that left our solar system several years ago. On there for any life form that encounters it. Chuck called his famous dance The Duck Walk.
The pioneer, the one from whom you can tell springboarded the other early ones, is definitely Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Li'l bit of gospel, li'l bit of blues, and a whole lot of electric guitar.
I should apologize to you. I just posted that nobody mentions Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I didn't look far enough or closely enough. She was the Godmother of Rock and Roll in so many ways. #sorry
Blues and country, but jazz would find its way in there. Remember, at that time Jazz was the dominant music, so Bill Haley's band infusing some aspect of jazz was a good way to bridge genres and sell more records.
@@richardmather1906 Sun Records. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Prior to them, Sun Records had recorded a lot of black performers, because Sam Phillips liked rhythm and blues.
I'd never heard of him being referred to as that so I looked it up and I've found several things that put him AMONG the founding fathers of rock n roll but not THE founding father.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 didn’t say he was THE founding father of rock and roll. He was referred to as the father of rock and roll. Like Michael Jackson was the Prince of Pop
@@sarider6294 Like I said, I looked it up and there is nothing that said he is the father of rock n roll, only that he is one of the founding fathers. Read my words, they are quite specific.
I'm 79 and all you said, but sometimes I cannot believe what the younger gen does not know. My parents were born in 1911&1912, but when I was in my teens 1950s I knew lots of music from the roaring twenties. Their music
The reactions of the hosts are so pure and joyous. Without Chuck Berry, there is no rock and roll. Thank you for sharing a song from the year I was born.
@@denroy3 No not “hardly”Of course that’s partly true as you can add in gospel, swing, country, rhythm and blues jazz but anyone with any knowledge of music recognises that R&R stemmed mainly from blues. Unless all the great musicians are wrong in their opinion of course. I suggest some study of the subject 😀 listen to some BB King or Muddy Waters. When they raised the tempo it’s clear The white dominated music industry was based on swing, trad jazz and big band music. That was it. Nothing else. Radio was the big influencer and only played those genres. Never black music. R&R was a shock and broke the mold. For sure all sorts influenced it but it was the likes of Chuck Berry and Little Richard that created a whole new sound. If you look up their backgrounds it becomes even more clear
I completely disagree that it was an equal influence. Blues even influenced country. The original Jimmy Rogers traveled many miles to see Bessie Smith. The Guitar originated in Africa.
He was funny and his lyrics were smart. He influenced - and even played with - the English rock generation of the 60s. Amazing performer. It does have a jazz vibe. Jazz comes from the blues. Rock is fast blues obviously. But it has a rockabilly vibe to it as well: the country influence.
If you ever seen the movie Back to the Future …. At the end of the movie Marty played Johnny Be Good …. He was channeling Chuck Berry . Mr Berry was born in St. Louis Mo.
Also in "Back to the Future" as Marty is playing "Johnny B. Good, one of the band members calls his cousin "Chuck" on the phone and says "Man you gotta hear this"... so technically Marty McFly may have been the guy who originated Rock and Roll. Also if you like Chuck Berry, you need to check him out doing "My Ding-a-Ling".
Just a bit of nostalgia for you.. the first performer to use drums in a band was Elvis Presley.. they say Elvis was the King of Rock, maybe so, but Chuck Berry was The Godfather.. Just a side note, rock is a mixture of Rhythm and Blues and Jazz.. with probably some Gospel tossed in for good measure.. early performers would be Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison to name a few..
@@debrahirshfield6997 JOHNNY CASH GOT ELVIS PRESLEY SIGNNED UP TO SUN RECORDS SINGING ROCKABILLY. THE MAN IN BLACK ( Johnny Cash ) WAS THE GREATEST COUNTRY SINGER OF ALL TIME. RIP JOOHNNY CASH AND JUNE CARTER.
Eugene Washington played the drums in Rocket 88 by Ike Turner in 1951; some 3 Years before Elvis' 1st release "That's All right" in 1954. Dick Bocelli was drummer in "Rock This Joint" (Bill Haley and His Comets) in 1952. The list goes on. Elvis is still king but his claim to have the 1st rock drum kit might be a stretch.
6:07 Presley was far from the first to use drums - and you can see the drum kit in this shot (far right.) But in the '50s, they played more heavily on the snare and top hat, and bass sounds tended to be muted - partly as a style thing, but mostly because sound systems of the time weren't as good at recording or playing deep bass sounds. So the drum sound isn't pushed forward and as obvious as it is today.
"If you wanted to give Rock another name, you could just call it Chuck Berry." - John Lennon & Chuck Berry is from St. Louis, and just died in the last few years.
While many artists are rock pioneers, CHUCK BERRY is universally considered the first who put it all together: the country guitar licks, the rhythm and blues beat, and lyrics that spoke to a young generation. In just a few songs, he drew a musical blueprint for what the world would soon know as rock & roll.
And he was inclusive. He never mentioned color or race or religion in his rockers, this was intentional, he wanted to show how we are alike, not different. Sweet Little Sixteen clearly highlights this.
For a while Chuck was known as The Black Hillbilly. He was heavily influenced by C & W music. You can tell by the way he sings. His song writing was much better than his voice.
This is not Rock. It's Rock 'n Roll - it still has a bit of swing to it and a back beat (emphasis on 2 & 4). Rock comes years later and has heavy 1 & 3 emphasis. In fact the lyrics to one of Chuck's songs called "Rock and Roll Music" says "It's got a back beat you can't lose it".
Go look up Sister Rosetta Tharpe - she is considered to have had the most influence on Rock 'n Roll starting way back in the '30's. She was a BIG influence on Chuck's guitar playing.
Have they even heard Little Richard yet? Someone needs to give them a good video and documentary about the beginning of rock and roll so they won't have to guess in public--and sorry, my beloved Richard, but it was even before you. These young people would surely be proud to know that it's their heritage, mostly, with a lot of the music of all the poor people of America, including country western, long before tv, before white businessmen started to say we need a white man who can sing this black music and found Elvis. Music brings us together and then cycles back to separate us because of innocent ignorance. People can't seem to love music without fighting over it as if it was a sport, ruining the healing, the love, or letting their religion tell them that some music is a sin.
@@glennmeade890 No, but one of them! Early, and she really did rock! Robert Plant saw her when he was young and claims she said Sweet boy, you should come on the road with us! I really don't doubt it!
There are times I watch you two react, and it just makes me laugh so hard! JAY:" I get a ROCK VIBE,...!" YEAH, D'YA THINK? I truly admire your innocence with some of the performers! Love the channel guys!
Saw him in a nightclub in Maryland in the mid 70’s with my husband, just after he shot his bass player. He was an hour late but boy what a show! What a thrill! (And he went a loooong time!)
I was fortunate enough to see Chuck Berry live with Little Richard back in 1999. They rocked it just as good as they did in the 50's. Chuck even did his duck walk.
Bill Hayley and the Comets started to perform in 1953 and Chuck Berry started performing about that same time . Thank you for asking and yes i am a white man that simply adored Chuck Berry! I loved dancing to all of Chucks music. He was and always will be 1 of my favorite performers . Again, i thank you so much for asking about Chuck Berry!!!!!
You're having trouble seeing this as rock because the guitars were electric acoustic sounding. Only in the 60's did they start experimenting when Fender guitars becamr more popular. The Kinks actually slashed the speakers to make the guitar sound different.(Listen to 'All Day and All of the Night') This is way before there were any sound effects to use on guitar. Try Jailhouse rock by Elvis next.
The brothers who founded The Kinks, Ray and Dave Davies, writer/lead vocalist and guitarist, had their first hit with "You Really Got Me" and 17 year old guitarist Dave was the one who took a razor to his little green amp to get that guitar sound that intrigued Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and a lot of people around the world. The Beatles liked the song so much they asked them to be their opening band and would sneak into the audience every night to watch them play, according to Paul. John Lennon, of course, noticed how few originals were on The Kinks first album and insulted Ray on purpose by telling him if they ran out of their own songs they could borrow some of theirs--in the British tradition of hazing the opening act, which The Kinks seem to have followed, too. (Ray is friends with Queen's Brian May--instead of hazing, they took their opening acts out for expensive dinners, making for better tour atmospheres.) Sorry--so glad to see someone mention The Kinks!
Hey Squad!! Grandpa Diego over here, again. This reaction was really nice. Regarding your question on who was the primary source of rock and roll, the answer is: no one and everyone. This genre is a blend of old school cotton plantation chants, later called rithm and blues and ancient country music; this was somethig that was developing little by little through the time, blending slowly over low heat and every new performer contributed with his work to that what later started to be called rock and roll. Now, if you want to dive even deeper into the source, I'd recommend Sister Rosetta Tharpe; you take a pick any of her performances, all of them are amazing. The footages are what they are, so be happy that they still exist. Go diving and have fun alongside my blessings.
Hey guys. You need to start by distinguishing that there is a difference between rock music and rock n roll. What you keep talking about with the more prominent guitars and drums is rock music. Rock n roll took it's roots from country and rhythm and blues. Try some Buddy Holly. Buddy and The Crickets were booked sight unseen (just from hearing them on the radio) at the Apollo. The crowd was shocked, but that all went away when they started performing. Buddy was really shaping rock n roll when he was tragically killed in that plane crash. His death is what Don Mclean was talking about in his great song American Pie when he referred to "The day the music died." Oh and sorry to say that Chuck is no longer with us. He passed back in 2017 at 90 years old. He was born and raised in St. Louis.
True - Buddy Holly and the Crickkets showed up at the Apollo and everyone was going: What are these white guys doing here? Until they started to play...and then they were a sensation.
Let's not forget that Ritchie Vallens and the Big Bopper also died in that crash. Rock and roll is like Stone Soup. So many threw in the ingredients that made it but it's tough to reverse engineer it. There are Caribbean, deep USA southern blues and jazz, California sound, Chicago jazz, Country and bluegrass all added ingredients. Then England tried our recipe and brought it back here a little differently and then that was added to yet again. But what was going on in the world was like the cooking temperature and you can't separate that out. Eisenhower's America to JFK and his assassination, Vietnam, the fight for equality of gender and race, MLK and RFK assassinations, the students fight for voters rights - Mississippi Burning, burning draft cards, Ohio State, burning bras, the Summer of Love, Woodstock, Nixon's Watergate scandal, Manson, etc., etc. Rock and Roll came out of all of that and more! Where did it start? Who was 1st? Respectfully, that's not exactly the right question. I believe it's the entire trip - not the 1st step - that's important. And 'what a long strange trip it's been'. It's a history of us told in music. Geez! I'm getting old - lol!
Most Rock-n-Roll historians believe “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston in 1951 was the first one. It actually had distorted guitar. “Rock Around the Clock” came out in 1955. By that time more artists began to appear: Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and of course, Chuck Berry. They were monstrous inspirations to the musicians who would take the genre to stratospheric levels: Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and just about all rock artists who came out in the 60’s and early 70’s. And yes, Southern Blues was the primary musical inspiration.
Rock around the Clock was 1952 (Bill Haley and The Comets) and was a hit - ergo the historians give the credit to him. Chuck Berry put the 'Roll' in rock n roll with his popular 1958 "Rock And Roll Music" record. A thing becomes popular when it's repeated by others, not just an obscure recording or catch phrase by someone.
Don't forget Jerry Lee Lewis- Great Balls of Fire. And Billy Crash Craddock- Knock three times and Bobby Darin- Split Splash Michael Fox sang Johnny B Good in Back to the future
From Wikipedia; “ Charles "Chuck" Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 - March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs …”
The original lyric was"a little coloured boy called Johnny B Goode" ,they changed it to make it more acceptable to a white audience.Chuck Berry is the father of rock n roll.
If you want to delve into the beginnings of Rock N' Roll, It all starts with the Blues. Robert Johnson in the 1930's is the foundation of it all, then into the Big Band era of Glenn Miller in the early 1940's, then into the Country Swing of Hank Williams Sr. in the late 1940's, then into the jazz/blues/R&B of Ray Charles in the early 1950's, then into those who melded it all together into this new thing called "Rock N' Roll" in the mid 1950's (Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard). Then Elvis came along, and blew the doors wide open with his first recording (and first hit) "That's Alright Mama". I love them all, but it would be fun to see you react to Fats Domino, with such classic hits as "Blueberry Hill", "Ain't that a shame", and "Blue Monday". So many great hits! Peace
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 Can I sit through Elvis Presley's version of Blue Suede Shoes? Hell no! I love Carl Perkins, his amazing songwriting and guitar playing abilities were truly genius, and he is without a doubt another foundation stone in this thing we call Rock N' Roll. And for the fact that Elvis was not a songwriter, I agree with you to an extent, but the reality is, Elvis had an ear for great Rhythm and Blues songs, and he had a voice that cut through the Johnny Mathis and Pat Boone fluff that the recording industry was spoon feeding to the majority of the population at that time. Elvis introduced the roots of black music to a whole new audience of white kids, which opened the doors wide open for what would become Rock N' Roll. I'm attaching a link to an interview by Robert Plant in which he describes this phenomena much more eloquently then I ever could. But if you do the research, you will find similar statements from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and almost every other musician of that time period who grew up in the 1950's and wanted to pursue a life in music. I hope this helps in your pursuit of knowledge. Here's the link: ua-cam.com/video/24jPJhXLW4Q/v-deo.html Peace
@@thewizard6077 Firstly, I have no intention of watching another video of what people say how good or how they were influenced by Elvis I have seen them all. I care not for what people say about anybody. I have the ability to make up my own mind, I care less to be a sheep and follow the crowd. I do not own any Zeppelin music, however I have heard heaps. The Stones accredit most of their music to black music, i.e Muddy Waters. Now, Elvis was found by the colonel, he was molded into the great white hope to get the white girls out of the black clubs, because back then white America didn't want their "pure white American daughters" going to the black clubs because that's where it was all going on. In steps the colonel, molds Elvis. The colonel promoted him like crazy. White America took the bait and ate it all up. Lennon said before Elvis there was nothing. Do you think that Lennon was taking the piss out of every one by saying that? Have a think about the statement!! And in my opinion the beatles were not all that great. Elvis started doing gospels songs. The colonel got Lieber and Stoller, wrote him a couple of songs and then they were off. Once they had the white dollar they then chased the black dollar. In modern times it is exactly what Simon Cowell does with his bunch of groovy accountants. I hope this helps in your pursuit of knowledge.
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 You make a lot of valid points, and I don't necessarily disagree with a lot of what your saying, but based on your logic, I should hate the Coasters as well, because most (if not all) of their songs were written by Leiber and Stoller, and I LOVE the Coasters! So many fantastic hits like Yakety Yak, Poison Ivy, Young Blood, and others! And not just the fantastic, clever songwriting of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, but the awesome vocals and harmonies, and the amazing productions with the grooving beats and that amazing early distorted guitar sound in the back with the saxophone. I mean, just simply fantastic! Look, I hate the later, fat Elvis as much as anybody else on the planet who appreciates good music, but I can't deny that a lot of his early recordings just rock!, with Scotty Moore tearing it up on the guitar, and Bill Black with his awesome rocking Bass lines. I mean, they were rocking, no mater who wrote the songs, and although I wasn't alive at the time to give a first hand account of what was going down in the mid 1950's, it doesn't take the Amazing Kreskin to see the countless number of musicians who grew up at the time claiming Elvis was a major force in their life. But I totally appreciate where your coming from, and I enjoyed reading your argument. Much more detailed and in depth then your initial 4 line comment. Peace
@@thewizard6077 Just for the record I have never in any of my comments have I hated nor been racist about Elvis. and I have never told or stated that people should not listen to and go crazy over Elvis. What people need to realize is that he was a puppet to the colonel. Not nor have I ever said he wasn't a good entertainer for the white folk. However what amazes me is that most if not all Elvis reactions are done by people of color, and probably 99% of the comments are from white folk. What does that tell you? Now that tells me, and maybe I am wrong, but the parents of these people of color either knew that Elvis was for the white people or they knew what the colonel was doing. Lieber and Stoller wrote "hound dog" made famous by Big Momma Thornton. Now these two guys knew that the material they were writing was never going to be sung by white folk. So they wrote for the people of color. I have thoroughly enjoyed the chat with you. Maybe we will meet again on another site with total agreeance on the subject at hand. ua-cam.com/video/uUOSdUX_NaA/v-deo.html
He's literally the reason Elvis and Jimi pick up a guitar. He's the Reason Mic, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards ever get into music.
@@ddskreamer THANK YOU! All of the early rock and rollers, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, etc, were directly influenced by her and wouldn't have had shit had it not been for the originator, the godmother, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Let's put some respect on her name.
Fun trivia: The guitar Marty plays in Back to the Future is a Gibson ES345 - which was invented in 1958, 3 years after the scene in the movie took place at the 1955 prom. He played a song from the future with a guitar from the future 😉
Chuck Berry is “THE FATHER OF ROCK & ROLL” John Lennon said if they had to give Rick n Roll another name it would be Chuck Berry! The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis all praise and play Chuck Berry songs!!
I was so lucky to be among the few invited on stage to dance to this song with Chuck Berry. He was so great. I danced...loved the concert!!! One of the best performers of all time.
Rock & Roll came from rhythm and blues, or "race music" as it was referred to back then. What you are thinking of as "rock" was a later evolution. This still has a rockabilly/boogey feel. If you want to hear the roots take a listen to Big Mama Thorton's original version of Hound Dog
Also... even earlier... the expression rock n' roll came from "a rockin' and a rollin' " which, ahem, was slang for a little getting together, probably in a nice automobile with a comfy bench seat !! See also "whole lotta shakin' goin' on!"
In fact, in the movie, the singer who hurt his hand hears Marty's performance and runs to the phone and calls "Chuck! It your cousin, Marvin... Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you're looking for? Well listen to this!"
I grew up in the 60s and I was taught Chuck Berry was the father of Rock and Roll. Of course there was an abundance of great groups at the time, but he had the showmanship to go along with his musical talent. Definitely a legend!
There is no one artist that was the "first." You can find some old blues, country or jazz that sounds like rock n roll even back into the 40's. Rob seems to want to know when rock n roll became ROCK. That would be The Kinks' You Really Got Me.
You should check out Chuck Berry singing “My Ding Aling” the live version, it is hilarious. Also the live version of “Roll Over Beethoven”. The camera work is crazy, but Chuck Berry’s moves are amazing!
I saw Chuck Berry in concert. He was the opening act for the Rolling Stones during their “Gimme Shelter” tour (late 60s). He was awesome! He out-performed the Stones. Even at his age, he still performed the duck walk.
I used to work with a guy that seemed to be into Southern Rock. For some reason it puts me in mind of a debate I heard. Some people consider the Marshall Tucker band to be Country,and some people consider them Southern Rock.
@@ceevio_art Agreed there is good & bad music but there’s different genre’s as there’s different generations. That’s just a fact of life, it doesn’t mean you like only one genre. Music is there too enjoy, no one can say they like all. You & I say there’s good & bad but just because I don’t like something means it’s bad as you might like it. Get me.
Bill Haley & The Comets’ “Rock Around The Clock” (1954), Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” (1955), and Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” (1956) were some of the first. Little Richard considered himself as the architect of Rock N Roll. Let's not forget Jerry Lee Lewis
Chuck Berry was a St. Louis boy from start to finish. He died at age 90 (2017), and until somewhere around a year, he played at his own club there at least once a month. And yes, this song is semi-autobiographical. He changed the names and locations from St. Louis - and the street he grew up on was Goode Street - and he was also not uneducated. He had a degree in...wait for it....hairdressing and cosmotology. But the vibe, the gist, the FEEL of the story in the song, the kid that wants to be up on stage with a guitar? That's all him.
J , you need to react Fats Domino" blueberry Hill" and Jerry Lee Lewis " great balls of fire" both piano players
Little Richard - Lucille
For sure Jerry Lee Lewis
@@macinfloydvolk they should also react to "Long Tall Sally", "Tootie Fruity" and "Good Golly Miss Molly"
Little Richard is the next obvious choice.
Tutto Fruitii, Lucille, Long Tall Sally!
also Jerry Lee Lewis "Whole Lotta Shakin"
"I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it."
Love this song in Back To The Future!! 🙂
This is exactly my first thought when this popped on my feed. I love Marty McFly's version in back to the future. Best part is when the band member who Marty is replacing calls up his cousin "chuck" and says "you know that sound you've been looking for, well listen to this" and he holds the phone up to the performance. Freaking awesome!
LOL
Lmao
😉
Little Richard always claimed the “originator” title but that’s debatable. Back in 1957/58 you had Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly. The term “Rock N Roll” had been used since 1946 but was an obscure term until the 50’s when Alan Freed (a disc jockey) used it a lot to describe this style of music.
The term rock and roll was originally a euphemism of coitus .
I understood Carl Perkins started it all w/ the original version of Blue Suede Shoes. But who really knows?
@@bluebird3281 like the term Jazz too right ?
Nicely done on the history side.
@@bluebird3281 and religious ecstasy.
This is why the scene in "Back to the Future" where Marty plays with the band and goes a little wild then tells everyone that their kids are gonna love this is so iconic.
"HEY Chuck, it's your cousin Marvin...Marvin BERRY!, Listen to this!" loved that scene.
It’s not rock, it’s Rock”n”Roll
Look up sister Rosetta Tharpe. She is definitely one of the original architects of rock and roll.
I should apologize to you. I just posted that nobody mentions Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I didn't look far enough or closely enough. She was the Godmother of Rock and Roll in so many ways. #sorry
Only woman I have seen who can cook without even using a stove.
@S Ragsdale Aretha Franklin before Aretha Franklin...man what a voice!
Yes 👍 Sister Rosetta, first to do distortion on Electric car too …. amazing
OG Queen 👑 Of Rock n Roll 💚
In the late '30s Sister Rosetta invented the sound that would later be called R&R.
Angus Young's duck walk is a straight imitation of Chuck Berry.
🤘🏻😎
He acknowledges that. Chuck Berry was a big influence you can hear it in some of his chord progressions, solos, and timing.
You can watch Angus Young pay tribute to Chuck every concert he plays....
the duck-walk is his.
God bless rock and roll!
His influence on Angus certainly shows everytime Angus goes on the stage yes :D
Angus, Elvis, Michael Jackson pretty much all the players with “stage presence” from the 50s on thru owe at least a little to Chuck Berry.
Along with Little Richard of course
“Buddy Holly” is another Founding Father of Rock n Roll :
- Everyday
- Rave On
- That’ll Be the Day
- Peggy Sue
Yes Buddy Holly is really good
Buddy Holly is a Must ,and Jerry Lee Lewis
Not Jazz...Blues is the foundation for most Rock 'n' Roll.
rythem and blues
Rock and Roll, like most music evolved, it wasn't born. It is still evolving.
Partially agree,,swing and big band, led to the Jump Swing of acts like Louis Jordan which Bill Hailey is emulating. In terms of electric guitar all comes from Black bluesman for sure.
This is basically a blues in twelve bars.
@@jgsrhythm100 The piano was very prominent early on too. With the likes of Fats Dominoe, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
For rocking on a piano, listen to Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire.
I was brought up with these two as my Dad was a piano player.............i just had to go and watch Blueberry Hill and Great Balls Of Fire lol
Yes! Some consider Great Balls of Fire the greatest Rock & Roll song ever written
Shout out to Dazo for mentioning Blueberry Hill.
Fats Domino was EPIC!
Little Richard , Tutti Frutti, long tall sally , Lucille. Ike Turner, rocket 59, Fats Domino, ain't that ashame , blueberry hill. Chuck Berry, no particuler place to go, hello Josephine, etc. Jerry Lee Lewis copied Little Richard's style.
@@elijahbethea6313 little Richard, another one i listened to when i was a boy 👌. Johnny Johnson was another, who was Chuck Berry's piano player. Chuck stole loads of licks off Johnny and transposed them to guitar 😁
Agree with you totally- none better than Jerry Lee Lewis.
This song is, considered by many, to be the very birth of rock and roll.
Rocket 88? Don't get me wrong. Chuck Berry is one of not the first rock star. Love him. But rocket 88
Got that right
Birth of rock, not rock n roll.
Really? When Elvis, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and dozens more had huge hit Rock and Roll songs prior to Johnny B Goode? Chuck Berry had many prior hits including ''"Rock and Roll Music" the previous year.
It's debatable, but Rocket 88 in 1951 is most often considered the 1st. By Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats with Ike Turner. Don't have to like him to give credit.
The following I checked online for accuracy:
Bill Haley & His Comets started playing Rock and Roll with a Rocket 88 cover in 1951. “Rock Around the Clock” was copyrighted by songwriters Max C. Freedman & James Myers in March 1953. The Comets recorded it in 1954. The song appeared in the movie "Blackboard Jungle" & quickly became the first huge Rock and Roll hit, #1 for 2 months. Bill Haley & His Comets were soon replaced with younger edgier artists like Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, etc... There's evidence Freedman who was 60 in 1953 wrote the song himself. I'm in my mid-50s myself & find that rather inspiring.
People are misunderstanding what was stated, rock around the clock was considered the start of the rock and roll era because it went to number 1 , no one ever said it was the first rock and roll song,
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire and Little Richard- Tutti Frutti
you will love the piano on those
No one person started Rock and Roll. It was a vibe going around influenced by many things and different people put their spin on it. It was an evolution, not something born on one spot fully formed. All music is like that.
Exactly
Here is what really happened
ua-cam.com/video/ZveMYqEqJyI/v-deo.html
Yep most great music can't be put in one particular box.
Precisely!
Well said. You could apply that to practically any 'invention'.
My Ding a Ling is a classic! I still remember hearing this as a kid when it came out! It`s a cute funny tale. Please react to the live version! You will love it! Keep On Rockin`.
My Ding a Ling, cute and funny! well I guess so, but not R&R, but playing with your Ding a Ling as you well know Dee, has a double meaning, Chuck Berry was so much more than that.
JOHN LENNON ONCE SAID, "IF IT WASN'T CALLED ROCK AND ROLL, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED CHUCK BERRY!"
At least get the quote right.
@@BuckForearmThat "is" the quote, "Bucko!"
@@paulsullivan1650 you don’t even have the mental capacity to google the fucking quote?
Chuck Berry is beyond "god" status. He influenced every rock guitarist that ever played. Remember, this is 1958. He didn't just rock the boat, he sank the damn thing.
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Chuck Berry got ripped off by a promoter ONCE. He would refuse to perform unless paid in cash upfront. Promoters must have hated him
@@roryrory5047 He would also put riders in his contracts that were virtually impossible for promoters to fulfill or the promoter would have to pay Berry a bonus. Things like asking for a certain piece of equipment that there were only three of in the country.
He died at the age of 90years old
@@locustjohn3865 Can't say I blame him artists were ripped off appallingly in those days
More early rock:
Eddie Cochran: "Summertime Blues"
Gene Vincent: "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
She's got this, Chuck Berry is the first Rockstar. He put the showmanship into it...This song is historic, they sent it into space. True story.
Everyone else copied him.
@@louiseasmith1336
Elvis was the first, in 1954.
He opened the doors for Little Richard and Chuck Berry.
Little Richard is on camera saying it was Elvis who really made his career, singing black people's music, so in other words it was fine to listen to it.
Remember segregation was rife then, black people were second rate citizens.
Elvis was white and if you watch his first appearances it was all white teenage girls screaming.
Common sense really millions more white teenage girls and boys to buy the records and go to appearances as they were then.
Elvis opened doors for many performers black and white.
That is history.
LONG LIVE THE KING ❤
Elvis stood by the back door of blues club and got his inspiration from black blues artists as well as country and gospel. I'm not sure you can pick a single performer who started rock n roll..The term was invented by a DJ. Carl Perkins, Elvis, Buddy Holly as well as Berry and Little Richard all added to the genre.
@@jennywren7822 he was first to copy the black players and was successful because he was white. Even he said he copied the black dance moves. But not the first to invent R+R
@@robertbeaulieu9386
Guess what?
Elvis presley's initial sound was the fusion of white country and bluegrass with black blues.
When you say just black music alone, you reveal racist tendencies.
Chuck is, and will forever be, the Godfather of Rock n Roll. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, those are the men who birthed rock n roll.
The Big Bopper “Chantilly Lace”
Richie Valen “LaBamba” and “Oh Donna”
Jerry Lee Lewis “Great Balls of Fire”
Definitely Ritchie Valens LA Bamba!!
@@Jamesleekirk Movies...
Gene Vincent as well
you read my mind. excellent choices
@@matthewburkart7718 Gene Vincent is the man!👍
Chuck Berry has a hilarious song called My Ding-A-Ling
Gotta watch a live version for that one.
Chuck Berry IS the Godfather of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Rosetta Thorpe is the god mother
Actually Marty McFly is the Godfather of Rock ‘n’ Roll! 😁
Yes he is:)
@@jimhsfbay 😆
@@stephenbrown199 She absolutely is!
This song was put on the gold disc on board "Voyager 1" and he's singing to the stars.
News bulletin: scientists have received the first message from alien civilization: it is a four word message:
"SEND MORE CHUCK BERRY!"
Chuck Berry is famous for his “Duck Walk” that you’ve seen Angus imitate in so many AC/DC videos.
Which performance does Berry perform hus Duck Walk? I think it's "Maybelleen".
@@kathyp1563 every live one
He make it live of this song in concert with Bruce Springsteen
Aaaa, how about the word GREAT?
I saw an interview with Chuck where he said he started to "duck walk" to try and hide the wrinkles in his (Rayon) suits from long hours on the road (remember, this is most bands, especially when up and coming, drove themselves in their own cars). It was a hit, so he incorporated it into his act.
Some things to keep in mind: this was EARLY, classic rock 'n roll, emerging out of the swing and big band eras. The sound hadn't fully developed yet. Audio recording technology was relatively primitive compared to today. To our modern ears, it can sound sketchy, tinny, and the instruments unbalanced with one another. Also, electric guitars back then were still relatively new and much of the "rock sound" hadn't even been invented yet! Modern rock guitar effects like distortion, overdrive, compressor, flanger, wah-wah etc. weren't a thing yet - the sound mostly just ran straight from the guitar into the amp. Tremolo and reverb were pretty much it. Drum kits were very basic for the most part. So yeah, if you're comparing this to say, Guns 'n Roses and confused that both are considered "Rock music", keep in mind that it's a broad category and realize that decades of musical evolution came after! S'all good though. ;)
Right! It was all new and wide open, and Chuck saw it and made it his. You can just look at the venue he’s playing and the audience. They’re dressed for classical or maybe formal jazz, and here comes Chuck Berry plugging in his electric guitar. They’d never seen anything like that, surely not in the concert hall, and really I give them credit for open minds, although as far as classic rock & roll goes, how can you get better than Chuck Berry playing “Johnny B Goode”, the quintessential song that set the form and structure that future rock & roll songs used?: two verses about a kid playing guitar, a double guitar solo, one more verse and a finish. Perfection.
Lathe Dauphinot Right on!!!
I agree with a lot of what you’ve just written. However, I just want to clarify that although, yes, R’n’R was “emerging out of the swing and big band ERA”, it *was not* emerging *from* the swing and big band GENRES. R’n’R came from a fusion of (primarily) rhythm and blues with an element of blues, country, bluegrass and rockabilly.
Chuck Berry a lot of times traveled alone with just his guitar and would pick up a band to back him up at the venues he played at. The band would usually never have backed him up before and in some cases would never have heard him play. To make things even more difficult for the orchestra he improvised a lot as you just saw in this video. The orchestra just had to try to keep up. Luckily most had experience with playing jazz and had learned to adapt quickly.
@@caseyparker6375 I saw him play that way. In 1983 when I graduated high school, my dad took me and three of my buddies to see him play with the house band at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, “the world’s largest honky-tonk”. He opened with “Roll Over Beethoven”, the house band was good, and I loved it. Yep, he’d come in the back door carrying his guitar, go straight to the promoter to get paid, then walk on stage, plug in, and start playing. When he finished, he put the guitar in the case, left $1000 for the band and amps rental, walked out the back door, got in the rent car, and was gone.
If you didn’t know this song, that’s means you’ve never seen Back To The Future…which is more disappointing than not knowing the song. 😁
Seriously I was thinking the same thing.
On the plus side, if they watch the movie now, they will get the scene where Marty is playing - and "Marvin" calls his cousin. : )
Well then he should
Me personally I think alot of these reactors are lying their asses off to get views. If you have cable I'm pretty sure everyone has seen back to the future. If not they've been living under a rock.
@@MrGrifter123 Well, you can see the movie and not understand the reference.
Early rock came from blues. Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and all the others basically took blues, combined it with the swing genre and created Rock-N-Roll. You can hear it the the 12 bar blues progression and the walking bass line. Jazz came from blues. Basically most if not all western pop music came from blues.
Actually, they combined blues and country....
Bruce Springsteen once said that the only show he'd pay to see was Chuck Berry. A vinyl of this song was put on the spaceship Voyager that left our solar system several years ago. On there for any life form that encounters it. Chuck called his famous dance The Duck Walk.
Re: Voyager 1
"Send More Chuck Berry" SNL
ua-cam.com/video/vwCidO_xJRw/v-deo.html
The pioneer, the one from whom you can tell springboarded the other early ones, is definitely Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Li'l bit of gospel, li'l bit of blues, and a whole lot of electric guitar.
I should apologize to you. I just posted that nobody mentions Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I didn't look far enough or closely enough. She was the Godmother of Rock and Roll in so many ways. #sorry
Now youre talkin !! She was way ahead of the game
She may have invented the guitar solo. She loved her guitar so much that she was buried with it when she died.
"I Think That Rock'n'Roll Has It's Origins In Jazz"
Actually, Jordan, Rock'n'Roll is derived from Blues music
Don't forget the country.
Blues and country, but jazz would find its way in there. Remember, at that time Jazz was the dominant music, so Bill Haley's band infusing some aspect of jazz was a good way to bridge genres and sell more records.
R&B, gospel and country swing.
@@richardmather1906 Sun Records. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Prior to them, Sun Records had recorded a lot of black performers, because Sam Phillips liked rhythm and blues.
Rock and roll has always adopted elements of blues, jazz, r&b, country, bluegrass, gospel... rock and roll is a glorious mutt!
Real music people know Chuck is the king of Rock n Roll. It started with Chuck, and he still goes hard as fuck.
Cheers!
Chuck is the “Father of Rock n Roll” He’s from St. Louis and passed away 4 years ago at 90.
I'd never heard of him being referred to as that so I looked it up and I've found several things that put him AMONG the founding fathers of rock n roll but not THE founding father.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 didn’t say he was THE founding father of rock and roll. He was referred to as the father of rock and roll. Like Michael Jackson was the Prince of Pop
@@sarider6294 Like I said, I looked it up and there is nothing that said he is the father of rock n roll, only that he is one of the founding fathers. Read my words, they are quite specific.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 Unofficial titles do not have official records to look up!!!!
@@mortimerbrewster3671 Oh Really? I found this on the first look up countrymusichalloffame.org/content/uploads/2019/05/WM-7-12-Chuck-Berry-Bio.pdf
For a more familiar "rock setup" do Buddy Holly and the Crickets Peggy Sue.
I'm 60 years old and I can't tell you how fun it is to watch the younger generations learn the history of music!! Keep on learnin!
Agreed! It's a pleasure to watch them discover all this for the first time! I can't get enough.
I'm 79 and all you said, but sometimes I cannot believe what the younger gen does not know. My parents were born in 1911&1912, but when I was in my teens 1950s I knew lots of music from the roaring twenties. Their music
The reactions of the hosts are so pure and joyous. Without Chuck Berry, there is no rock and roll. Thank you for sharing a song from the year I was born.
You have to watch the movie “Back To The Future “. Marty takes this song to another level.
Chuck inspired every guitarist that came after in one way or another. ALSO: No Chuck - No Keith.
Chuck Berry copied the style of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was playing this stuff in the 1930's!!
Do people even KNOW Google exists?!?!
and then Keith Richards played with Chuck Berry in Berry's touring concert in the great biofilm about him.
@@davidpost428
She was still there first!
Oh dear me, pure magic
R&R comes from blues mainly. Influences from all over the place as well
Has to be Roll Over Beethoven next ? 😀
Hardly, it was a mix of genres.
@@denroy3
No not “hardly”Of course that’s partly true as you can add in gospel, swing, country, rhythm and blues jazz but anyone with any knowledge of music recognises that R&R stemmed mainly from blues. Unless all the great musicians are wrong in their opinion of course. I suggest some study of the subject 😀 listen to some BB King or Muddy Waters. When they raised the tempo it’s clear
The white dominated music industry was based on swing, trad jazz and big band music. That was it. Nothing else. Radio was the big influencer and only played those genres. Never black music. R&R was a shock and broke the mold. For sure all sorts influenced it but it was the likes of Chuck Berry and Little Richard that created a whole new sound. If you look up their backgrounds it becomes even more clear
Country music had as much of an influence on R&R as the blues, especially with Chuck Berry.
I completely disagree that it was an equal influence. Blues even influenced country. The original Jimmy Rogers traveled many miles to see Bessie Smith. The Guitar originated in Africa.
I aalllllwwaaayyysss loved Chuck Berry! I was a child in the 80s but it didn't matter, Chuck Berry was in my top list! He is so cool! 😁
He was funny and his lyrics were smart. He influenced - and even played with - the English rock generation of the 60s. Amazing performer. It does have a jazz vibe. Jazz comes from the blues. Rock is fast blues obviously. But it has a rockabilly vibe to it as well: the country influence.
If you ever seen the movie Back to the Future …. At the end of the movie Marty played Johnny Be Good …. He was channeling Chuck Berry . Mr Berry was born in St. Louis Mo.
Also in "Back to the Future" as Marty is playing "Johnny B. Good, one of the band members calls his cousin "Chuck" on the phone and says "Man you gotta hear this"... so technically Marty McFly may have been the guy who originated Rock and Roll.
Also if you like Chuck Berry, you need to check him out doing "My Ding-a-Ling".
“It’s your cousin, Marvin, Marvin Berry, that new sound you’ve been lookin for....”
Just a bit of nostalgia for you.. the first performer to use drums in a band was Elvis Presley.. they say Elvis was the King of Rock, maybe so, but Chuck Berry was The Godfather.. Just a side note, rock is a mixture of Rhythm and Blues and Jazz.. with probably some Gospel tossed in for good measure.. early performers would be Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison to name a few..
And a little country.
Right and country, Johnny Cash.
@@debrahirshfield6997 JOHNNY CASH GOT ELVIS PRESLEY SIGNNED UP TO SUN RECORDS SINGING ROCKABILLY. THE MAN IN BLACK ( Johnny Cash ) WAS THE GREATEST COUNTRY SINGER OF ALL TIME. RIP JOOHNNY CASH AND JUNE CARTER.
Eugene Washington played the drums in Rocket 88 by Ike Turner in 1951; some 3 Years before Elvis' 1st release "That's All right" in 1954. Dick Bocelli was drummer in "Rock This Joint" (Bill Haley and His Comets) in 1952. The list goes on. Elvis is still king but his claim to have the 1st rock drum kit might be a stretch.
6:07 Presley was far from the first to use drums - and you can see the drum kit in this shot (far right.) But in the '50s, they played more heavily on the snare and top hat, and bass sounds tended to be muted - partly as a style thing, but mostly because sound systems of the time weren't as good at recording or playing deep bass sounds. So the drum sound isn't pushed forward and as obvious as it is today.
He passed away 2017 and was from Missouri and it was definitely the pioneer of Rock and Roll. His nickname was Father of Rock and Roll
St. Louis, Mo.
"If you wanted to give Rock another name, you could just call it Chuck Berry."
- John Lennon
& Chuck Berry is from St. Louis, and just died in the last few years.
There is a cool Chuck Berry statue in St. Louis
@@jayjeffrey1724 Would he be considered the oldest rock musician, like Dick Clark was the world's oldest teenager?
While many artists are rock pioneers, CHUCK BERRY is universally considered the first who put it all together: the country guitar licks, the rhythm and blues beat, and lyrics that spoke to a young generation. In just a few songs, he drew a musical blueprint for what the world would soon know as rock & roll.
And he was inclusive. He never mentioned color or race or religion in his rockers, this was intentional, he wanted to show how we are alike, not different. Sweet Little Sixteen clearly highlights this.
universally? Bullshit.
You gotta watch Chuck Berry do his 'duck walk' as he's rockin.
This song has been covered by soooo many bands over the last 60+ years
You two would enjoy his live version of "My Ding-A-Ling"
Please no! I know he regarded it as his pension but if I had gone to a CB concert I would have been more than happy not to hear it.
@@joyfulzero853 I so agree with you on that, ha ha! I can't believe how many people are recommending it!
For a while Chuck was known as The Black Hillbilly. He was heavily influenced by C & W music. You can tell by the way he sings. His song writing was much better than his voice.
Another early name not to forget is Little Richard - Tooti Frutie, of course early Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock etc.
The birth of rock n roll, heavy metal, rap, r&b, and everything that we all love. Chuck berry is The Godfather of rock n roll!
He is considered the Father of rock 'n' roll.
This is not Rock. It's Rock 'n Roll - it still has a bit of swing to it and a back beat (emphasis on 2 & 4).
Rock comes years later and has heavy 1 & 3 emphasis.
In fact the lyrics to one of Chuck's songs called "Rock and Roll Music" says "It's got a back beat you can't lose it".
THIS!!
@Maya Nightwolf Exactly.
Finally someone who knows what he's talking about
“The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll”- Muddy Waters
Go look up Sister Rosetta Tharpe - she is considered to have had the most influence on Rock 'n Roll starting way back in the '30's. She was a BIG influence on Chuck's guitar playing.
Have they even heard Little Richard yet? Someone needs to give them a good video and documentary about the beginning of rock and roll so they won't have to guess in public--and sorry, my beloved Richard, but it was even before you. These young people would surely be proud to know that it's their heritage, mostly, with a lot of the music of all the poor people of America, including country western, long before tv, before white businessmen started to say we need a white man who can sing this black music and found Elvis. Music brings us together and then cycles back to separate us because of innocent ignorance. People can't seem to love music without fighting over it as if it was a sport, ruining the healing, the love, or letting their religion tell them that some music is a sin.
You should check out Jimmy Hendrix cover of Johnny B Goode
I believe Rosetta Tharpe was the first rocker!
@@glennmeade890 No, but one of them! Early, and she really did rock! Robert Plant saw her when he was young and claims she said Sweet boy, you should come on the road with us! I really don't doubt it!
She was amazing, and that SG guitar never sounded so good.
There are times I watch you two react, and it just makes me laugh so hard! JAY:" I get a ROCK VIBE,...!" YEAH, D'YA THINK? I truly admire your innocence with some of the performers! Love the channel guys!
The best of all time rock and roll piano player, JERRY LEE LEWIS. Whole Lot of Shakin' going on, WILD ONE, Great Balls of Fire.
Saw him in a nightclub in Maryland in the mid 70’s with my husband, just after he shot his bass player. He was an hour late but boy what a show! What a thrill! (And he went a loooong time!)
AMEN BROTHER!
Jerry Lee Lewis, whole lotta shaking
Yes ! Great suggestion.
Or Great Balls of Fire
Big Maybelle Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on. 1955. Jerry Lee Lewis Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On 1957.
I was fortunate enough to see Chuck Berry live with Little Richard back in 1999. They rocked it just as good as they did in the 50's. Chuck even did his duck walk.
Bill Hayley and the Comets started to perform in 1953 and Chuck Berry started performing about that same time . Thank you for asking and yes i am a white man that simply adored Chuck Berry! I loved dancing to all of Chucks music. He was and always will be 1 of my favorite performers . Again, i thank you so much for asking about Chuck Berry!!!!!
You're having trouble seeing this as rock because the guitars were electric acoustic sounding. Only in the 60's did they start experimenting when Fender guitars becamr more popular. The Kinks actually slashed the speakers to make the guitar sound different.(Listen to 'All Day and All of the Night') This is way before there were any sound effects to use on guitar. Try Jailhouse rock by Elvis next.
The brothers who founded The Kinks, Ray and Dave Davies, writer/lead vocalist and guitarist, had their first hit with "You Really Got Me" and 17 year old guitarist Dave was the one who took a razor to his little green amp to get that guitar sound that intrigued Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and a lot of people around the world. The Beatles liked the song so much they asked them to be their opening band and would sneak into the audience every night to watch them play, according to Paul. John Lennon, of course, noticed how few originals were on The Kinks first album and insulted Ray on purpose by telling him if they ran out of their own songs they could borrow some of theirs--in the British tradition of hazing the opening act, which The Kinks seem to have followed, too. (Ray is friends with Queen's Brian May--instead of hazing, they took their opening acts out for expensive dinners, making for better tour atmospheres.) Sorry--so glad to see someone mention The Kinks!
Hey Squad!! Grandpa Diego over here, again. This reaction was really nice. Regarding your question on who was the primary source of rock and roll, the answer is: no one and everyone. This genre is a blend of old school cotton plantation chants, later called rithm and blues and ancient country music; this was somethig that was developing little by little through the time, blending slowly over low heat and every new performer contributed with his work to that what later started to be called rock and roll. Now, if you want to dive even deeper into the source, I'd recommend Sister Rosetta Tharpe; you take a pick any of her performances, all of them are amazing. The footages are what they are, so be happy that they still exist. Go diving and have fun alongside my blessings.
Hey guys. You need to start by distinguishing that there is a difference between rock music and rock n roll. What you keep talking about with the more prominent guitars and drums is rock music. Rock n roll took it's roots from country and rhythm and blues. Try some Buddy Holly. Buddy and The Crickets were booked sight unseen (just from hearing them on the radio) at the Apollo. The crowd was shocked, but that all went away when they started performing. Buddy was really shaping rock n roll when he was tragically killed in that plane crash. His death is what Don Mclean was talking about in his great song American Pie when he referred to "The day the music died." Oh and sorry to say that Chuck is no longer with us. He passed back in 2017 at 90 years old. He was born and raised in St. Louis.
And the Big Bopper and Richie Valens 😕
True - Buddy Holly and the Crickkets showed up at the Apollo and everyone was going: What are these white guys doing here? Until they started to play...and then they were a sensation.
Exactly. You may take over my moniker and I will go back to using my real name, if you like.
Let's not forget that Ritchie Vallens and the Big Bopper also died in that crash. Rock and roll is like Stone Soup. So many threw in the ingredients that made it but it's tough to reverse engineer it. There are Caribbean, deep USA southern blues and jazz, California sound, Chicago jazz, Country and bluegrass all added ingredients. Then England tried our recipe and brought it back here a little differently and then that was added to yet again. But what was going on in the world was like the cooking temperature and you can't separate that out. Eisenhower's America to JFK and his assassination, Vietnam, the fight for equality of gender and race, MLK and RFK assassinations, the students fight for voters rights - Mississippi Burning, burning draft cards, Ohio State, burning bras, the Summer of Love, Woodstock, Nixon's Watergate scandal, Manson, etc., etc.
Rock and Roll came out of all of that and more! Where did it start? Who was 1st? Respectfully, that's not exactly the right question. I believe it's the entire trip - not the 1st step - that's important. And 'what a long strange trip it's been'. It's a history of us told in music. Geez! I'm getting old - lol!
@@karensilvera6694 AGREE!!!!
Johnny B Goode was a real person named Johnny Johnson. Johnson was actually from Fairmont, WV, USA - my hometown.
Most Rock-n-Roll historians believe “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston in 1951 was the first one. It actually had distorted guitar. “Rock Around the Clock” came out in 1955. By that time more artists began to appear: Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and of course, Chuck Berry. They were monstrous inspirations to the musicians who would take the genre to stratospheric levels: Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and just about all rock artists who came out in the 60’s and early 70’s. And yes, Southern Blues was the primary musical inspiration.
Rock around the Clock was 1952 (Bill Haley and The Comets) and was a hit - ergo the historians give the credit to him. Chuck Berry put the 'Roll' in rock n roll with his popular 1958 "Rock And Roll Music" record. A thing becomes popular when it's repeated by others, not just an obscure recording or catch phrase by someone.
@@jollyrodgers7272 Chuck Berry wrote and recorded "Roll Over Beethoven" in 1956.
Same thing I’ve heard.... Rocket 88 was the start of Rock music. But I’m not an expert on the subject.
Don't forget Jerry Lee Lewis- Great Balls of Fire. And Billy Crash Craddock- Knock three times and Bobby Darin- Split Splash Michael Fox sang Johnny B Good in Back to the future
Bobby Darin- Splish Splash
@@surlechapeau you are correct, I always forget to double check my autocorrect. Thanks for catching it.😊
@@shawnclay241 😊
From Wikipedia; “
Charles "Chuck" Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 - March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs …”
That IS an opinion by a particular author. There were many early pioneers.
Thank you James
The original lyric was"a little coloured boy called Johnny B Goode" ,they changed it to make it more acceptable to a white audience.Chuck Berry is the father of rock n roll.
If you want to delve into the beginnings of Rock N' Roll, It all starts with the Blues. Robert Johnson in the 1930's is the foundation of it all, then into the Big Band era of Glenn Miller in the early 1940's, then into the Country Swing of Hank Williams Sr. in the late 1940's, then into the jazz/blues/R&B of Ray Charles in the early 1950's, then into those who melded it all together into this new thing called "Rock N' Roll" in the mid 1950's (Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard). Then Elvis came along, and blew the doors wide open with his first recording (and first hit) "That's Alright Mama". I love them all, but it would be fun to see you react to Fats Domino, with such classic hits as "Blueberry Hill", "Ain't that a shame", and "Blue Monday". So many great hits!
Peace
there always has to be one person that is going to bring poor Elvis into it.
And it was you.
Elvis was an impersonator.
Not an originator.
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 Can I sit through Elvis Presley's version of Blue Suede Shoes? Hell no! I love Carl Perkins, his amazing songwriting and guitar playing abilities were truly genius, and he is without a doubt another foundation stone in this thing we call Rock N' Roll. And for the fact that Elvis was not a songwriter, I agree with you to an extent, but the reality is, Elvis had an ear for great Rhythm and Blues songs, and he had a voice that cut through the Johnny Mathis and Pat Boone fluff that the recording industry was spoon feeding to the majority of the population at that time. Elvis introduced the roots of black music to a whole new audience of white kids, which opened the doors wide open for what would become Rock N' Roll. I'm attaching a link to an interview by Robert Plant in which he describes this phenomena much more eloquently then I ever could. But if you do the research, you will find similar statements from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and almost every other musician of that time period who grew up in the 1950's and wanted to pursue a life in music. I hope this helps in your pursuit of knowledge. Here's the link:
ua-cam.com/video/24jPJhXLW4Q/v-deo.html
Peace
@@thewizard6077 Firstly, I have no intention of watching another video of what people say how good or how they were influenced by Elvis I have seen them all. I care not for what people say about anybody. I have the ability to make up my own mind, I care less to be a sheep and follow the crowd. I do not own any Zeppelin music, however I have heard heaps. The Stones accredit most of their music to black music, i.e Muddy Waters. Now, Elvis was found by the colonel, he was molded into the great white hope to get the white girls out of the black clubs, because back then white America didn't want their "pure white American daughters" going to the black clubs because that's where it was all going on. In steps the colonel, molds Elvis. The colonel promoted him like crazy. White America took the bait and ate it all up. Lennon said before Elvis there was nothing. Do you think that Lennon was taking the piss out of every one by saying that? Have a think about the statement!! And in my opinion the beatles were not all that great. Elvis started doing gospels songs. The colonel got Lieber and Stoller, wrote him a couple of songs and then they were off. Once they had the white dollar they then chased the black dollar. In modern times it is exactly what Simon Cowell does with his bunch of groovy accountants. I hope this helps in your pursuit of knowledge.
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 You make a lot of valid points, and I don't necessarily disagree with a lot of what your saying, but based on your logic, I should hate the Coasters as well, because most (if not all) of their songs were written by Leiber and Stoller, and I LOVE the Coasters! So many fantastic hits like Yakety Yak, Poison Ivy, Young Blood, and others! And not just the fantastic, clever songwriting of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, but the awesome vocals and harmonies, and the amazing productions with the grooving beats and that amazing early distorted guitar sound in the back with the saxophone. I mean, just simply fantastic! Look, I hate the later, fat Elvis as much as anybody else on the planet who appreciates good music, but I can't deny that a lot of his early recordings just rock!, with Scotty Moore tearing it up on the guitar, and Bill Black with his awesome rocking Bass lines. I mean, they were rocking, no mater who wrote the songs, and although I wasn't alive at the time to give a first hand account of what was going down in the mid 1950's, it doesn't take the Amazing Kreskin to see the countless number of musicians who grew up at the time claiming Elvis was a major force in their life. But I totally appreciate where your coming from, and I enjoyed reading your argument. Much more detailed and in depth then your initial 4 line comment.
Peace
@@thewizard6077 Just for the record I have never in any of my comments have I hated nor been racist about Elvis. and I have never told or stated that people should not listen to and go crazy over Elvis. What people need to realize is that he was a puppet to the colonel. Not nor have I ever said he wasn't a good entertainer for the white folk. However what amazes me is that most if not all Elvis reactions are done by people of color, and probably 99% of the comments are from white folk.
What does that tell you? Now that tells me, and maybe I am wrong, but the parents of these people of color either knew that Elvis was for the white people or they knew what the colonel was doing. Lieber and Stoller wrote "hound dog" made famous by Big Momma Thornton. Now these two guys knew that the material they were writing was never going to be sung by white folk. So they wrote for the people of color. I have thoroughly enjoyed the chat with you. Maybe we will meet again on another site with total agreeance on the subject at hand.
ua-cam.com/video/uUOSdUX_NaA/v-deo.html
There IS NO rock n roll without Chuck.
He's literally the reason Elvis and Jimi pick up a guitar. He's the Reason Mic, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards ever get into music.
There is no Chuck Berry without Sister Rosetta Tharpe!
@@ddskreamer THANK YOU! All of the early rock and rollers, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, etc, were directly influenced by her and wouldn't have had shit had it not been for the originator, the godmother, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Let's put some respect on her name.
@@garrettlink9090 Rubbish.
@@frankhyland6333 I was wrong about Elvis. John Lennon, Keith Richards, and Bob Dylan all idolized Chuck.
The Godfathers of Rock N Roll - yes Elvis, yes Beatles, and Chuck has got to be in there also.
Beatles came 10 years later
100%
Beatles, no.
Watching Stevie Ray Vaughn you can hear Chuck.
@@denroy3 The Beatles influenced more great musicians and groups than anyone ever by far.
Love chuck Berry .. is a legend. That duck walk and the guitar move is soo damn cool with the guitar solo.
This is what we called "ROCK N ROLL" the REAL Rock n Roll.
Bill Haley and Rock around the clock was 1955 and Johnny B Goode was 1958. Both songs are classics.
This song was in "Back to the Future" when Marty is playing at the school.
Fun trivia: The guitar Marty plays in Back to the Future is a Gibson ES345 - which was invented in 1958, 3 years after the scene in the movie took place at the 1955 prom. He played a song from the future with a guitar from the future 😉
Yeah that was so funny especially when the guy called Chuck Berry on the phone and said hey I found your new sound!
So, MARVIN Berry invented Rock'n'Roll ;)
@@chefskiss6179 that's so funny! Yeah- Chuck's cousin.
Chuck Berry is “THE FATHER OF ROCK & ROLL”
John Lennon said if they had to give Rick n Roll another name it would be Chuck Berry!
The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis all praise and play Chuck Berry songs!!
I was so lucky to be among the few invited on stage to dance to this song with Chuck Berry. He was so great. I danced...loved the concert!!! One of the best performers of all time.
If you liked that, you're gonna love his song My Ding-a-Ling. His duck walk is great too.
Omg! My dingaling is so awesome.
The foundation of rock is Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis
This is 58 true blues that got twisted into Rock and Roll , Chuck took it to another level and so it all began .
Rock & Roll came from rhythm and blues, or "race music" as it was referred to back then. What you are thinking of as "rock" was a later evolution. This still has a rockabilly/boogey feel. If you want to hear the roots take a listen to Big Mama Thorton's original version of Hound Dog
Also... even earlier... the expression rock n' roll came from "a rockin' and a rollin' " which, ahem, was slang for a little getting together, probably in a nice automobile with a comfy bench seat !! See also "whole lotta shakin' goin' on!"
Remember from Back To The Future,when Michael J.Fox's character Marty singing this at the prom.In 1958 this was considered to be rebellious music.
In fact, in the movie, the singer who hurt his hand hears Marty's performance and runs to the phone and calls "Chuck! It your cousin, Marvin... Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you're looking for? Well listen to this!"
1955 sir,lol
Good thing Mwrvin cakled his brother or he might have had to start rock n roll by himself,lol
In the movie Back to the Future they used this sing to explain that this was the new sound of music that everyone was looking for 👍🏻
I grew up in the 60s and I was taught Chuck Berry was the father of Rock and Roll. Of course there was an abundance of great groups at the time, but he had the showmanship to go along with his musical talent. Definitely a legend!
There is no one artist that was the "first." You can find some old blues, country or jazz that sounds like rock n roll even back into the 40's. Rob seems to want to know when rock n roll became ROCK. That would be The Kinks' You Really Got Me.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe kicked it off in the late '30s. She crossed over from gospel and blues.
If you’ve seen the movie “Back to the Future”, you’ve heard this song
You should check out Chuck Berry singing “My Ding Aling” the live version, it is hilarious. Also the live version of “Roll Over Beethoven”. The camera work is crazy, but Chuck Berry’s moves are amazing!
I saw Chuck Berry in concert. He was the opening act for the Rolling Stones during their “Gimme Shelter” tour (late 60s). He was awesome! He out-performed the Stones. Even at his age, he still performed the duck walk.
You have to remember that is really old clip . The sound isnt as good as he actually was 👍✌
You should definitely check out 'Chantilly Lace" by The Big Bopper
Hello, Baby. Oh Baby That's what I like. Classic song!
Oh yeah!
They should watch the Buddy Holly Story with Gary Busey.
Another movie worth a look is La Bamba. We almost forgot about Richie Valens too. La Bamba had Buddy and Big Bopper in minor roles.
@@matthewdrake4385 yes!!!!! Richie Valens!
Please do Jerry Lee Lewis - "Great Balls of Fire" 1957 HD version. Also his song "Whole Lotta Shakin Going On" 1957 on the Steve Allen Show!
Rock and roll music comes from the blues, not Jazz.
Robert Johnson back in the 1920's is considered by many as the origin of Rock guitar.
You’ve got hard rock, glam rock, soft rock, pop rock, punk rock, rock”n”roll, progressive rock. See what i’m saying.
I used to work with a guy that seemed to be into Southern Rock. For some reason it puts me in mind of a debate I heard. Some people consider the Marshall Tucker band to be Country,and some people consider them Southern Rock.
Folk rock, yeah so many different types
@@tritchie6272 Marshall Tucker is southern rock, saying that. Much of 70's southern rock is considered country now.
Why y'all so hung up on genres? there's just 2 types of music regardless of genre. Good and bad.
@@ceevio_art Agreed there is good & bad music but there’s different genre’s as there’s different generations. That’s just a fact of life, it doesn’t mean you like only one genre. Music is there too enjoy, no one can say they like all. You & I say there’s good & bad but just because I don’t like something means it’s bad as you might like it. Get me.
Rock is mostly blues and rock-a-billy tied up with country western and swing.
I was looking for this comment because I definitely was thinking rockabilly!
More of the founders….Jerry Lee Lewis- great balls of fire!!
Bill Haley & The Comets’ “Rock Around The Clock” (1954), Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” (1955), and Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” (1956) were some of the first. Little Richard considered himself as the architect of Rock N Roll. Let's not forget Jerry Lee Lewis
"Rocket 88" from 1951, by Jackie Brenston, may be a contender for the first rock n roll song.
Historically speaking Jackie Brenston coined the phrase when they were stopped by police.
Chuck Berry was a St. Louis boy from start to finish. He died at age 90 (2017), and until somewhere around a year, he played at his own club there at least once a month.
And yes, this song is semi-autobiographical. He changed the names and locations from St. Louis - and the street he grew up on was Goode Street - and he was also not uneducated. He had a degree in...wait for it....hairdressing and cosmotology. But the vibe, the gist, the FEEL of the story in the song, the kid that wants to be up on stage with a guitar? That's all him.
Ahead of his time gave music 🎶 a new direction that grew
Sorry kids Chuck passed just a couple of years ago, at the age of 90 and was still rockin' it.