Chuck Berry: Self
Photos
Quotes
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Chuck Berry : This is my Ford, my beautiful Ford, one I could afford. I love it! Black windows. I can hide any time I want to hide, you know, when it's time to hide.
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Chuck Berry : Don't touch my amp!
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Chuck Berry : [after they've played I'm Through with Love] Shoulda been a jazz artist, Jack!
Keith Richards : [laughing] No money in it!
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Chuck Berry : I was trying to shoot for the entire population, instead, shall we say, the neighborhood. Muddy Waters, I knew he was dynamite in our neighborhood. He's dynamite with me! One of the most loved artists that I like. But, working for my father in the white neighborhoods, I never heard Muddy Waters. I never heard Elmore James. Howlin' Wolf, I never heard him. I heard Frank Sinatra. I heard Pat Boone, you know. Pat Boone doing Muddy Waters or whoever his number, you know, selection. But, then I said now why can't I do as Pat Boone does and play good music for the white people and sell as well there as I could in the neighborhood. And that's what I shot for, writing "School Days." Nice, nice music. And, it caught on.
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Chuck Berry : Ladies and gentlemen, here is a young girl - she's a young girl to me - she's quite the lady, whom I met at the Merv Griffin Show in Hollywood when she began. Let's not - without any applause, come on out here. Linda Ronstadt! And "Back in the USA!" Come on, darlin'! Gee, but you're pretty.
Linda Ronstadt : [singing] Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today
Chuck Berry : Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Linda Ronstadt : We touched ground on an international runway
Chuck Berry : I bet you did!
Linda Ronstadt : Jet propelled back home, from over the seas to the U.S.A...
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Chuck Berry : This theater was the great white way of St. Louis. The epitome of theatrical business in St. Louis. And the father of Rock 'n' Roll, a cog in that big wheel, is starring here tonight. Me. It's a far cry from years back when my forefathers, a few blocks away, we sold on the civil courthouse steps. Sold. Now, that's a big change.
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Chuck Berry : Eric Clapton! Man of the blues!
Eric Clapton : [singing] In the wee, wee hours, That's when I think of you, In the wee, wee hours, That's when I think of you, You say, but yet I wonder, If our love was ever true...
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Chuck Berry : They say "That's a Chuck Berry song because it's Ba-du-ba-dada
[scat-sings a riff]
Chuck Berry : ." Well, the first time I heard in that was in one of Carl Hogan's riffs in Louis Jordan's band. We have T-Bone Walker, I love T-Bone Walker's slurs and his blueses; so put a little Carl Hogan, a little T-Bone Walker and a little Charlie Christian, the guitarist in Tommy Dorsey's band, together: look what a span of people that you will please. And that's what I did in Johnny B. Goode, Roll Over Beethoven - And making it simple is another important fact, I think, that resulted in a lot of the artists understanding, and being able to play, my music. If you can call it my music, but there's nothing new under the sun.
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Chuck Berry : When the money got larger, I put the paint brush down, picked the pic up, and fiddled. It got bigger.
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Chuck Berry : [First recordings with Chess Records] The next Friday, I think, Johnnie got off from his job, we went up there. Saturday, we recorded "Maybellene," "Wee Wee Hours," "Too Much Monkey Business" - by the way I had these songs written, all during that week - "Too Much Monkey Business" and, I think, "Roll Over Beethoven." And we did all four of 'em in less than six hours. "Maybellene" had 36 takes, by the way, I remember it.
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Bo Diddley : Money. You know, I'd sit up all night looking at that contract. You know, trying to figure out how I was going to make any money out of - two - two
Chuck Berry : No, half-a-cent per record.
Bo Diddley : Half-a-cent per record.
Little Richard : We had to sell two records to make a penny.
Bo Diddley : Right!
Chuck Berry : A record cost 59 cents, didn't it?
Bo Diddley , Little Richard : Yeah!
Chuck Berry : Then, there were 58 other pennies going somewhere.
Little Richard : Oh, boy.
Chuck Berry : Yeah, I majored in math. I was lookin' at the other 58 cents.
Little Richard : I majored in mouth!
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Chuck Berry : You know, poetry is my blood flow.
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Chuck Berry : I'm nearing 60, right? I've had, what I call *extreme success* from what I contemplated in my life. And I want to enjoy a bit of it too. I want to go to some gigs. Go to some rock concerts. And sit there and, "Hey, baby. Play that music, white boy."
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Chuck Berry : You feel your way, man. You don't know. Sometimes you step on rocks. Sometimes you get your head bumped. But, not twice. That's the smart way. Don't let the same dog bite you twice.
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Chuck Berry : [singing] Carol! don't let him steal it away, I'm gonna learn to dance if it takes me night and day, Go! Go!
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Chuck Berry : [singing] Sweet Little Sixteen, She's got the grown-up blues, Mini skirts and hot pants, Sometimes she don't even wear shoes, Oh, but tomorrow morning, She'll have to change her trend, And be sweet sixteen, And get back in class again, 'Cause I'll be rockin' on Bandstand...
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Chuck Berry : That's one thing about Rock 'n' Roll: it's freedom.
[plays and sings]
Chuck Berry : Well, I'm a write a little letter, I'm gonna mail it to my local DJ, Well, it's a jumping little record, That I want my jockey to play, Roll over Beethoven, I gotta hear it again today...
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Chuck Berry : [singing] Ridin' along in my automobile, My baby beside me at the wheel, I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile, My curiosity runnin' wild, Crusin' and playin' the radio, With no particular place to go...
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Chuck Berry : And now, fantastic, the fabulous, tremendous, powerful, dynamite, lady of the blues, Miss Etta James! Come here, baby! This is my girl!
Etta James : [singing] Just let me hear some of that Rock 'n' Roll music, Any old way you choose it, It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it, Any old way you choose it, It's gotta be Rock 'n' Roll music, If you wanna dance with me, If you wanna dance with me...
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Bo Diddley : It wasn't anything that we was doin' so wrong, it was just that people was so slow to...
Little Richard : You were black!
Bo Diddley : Accept change.
Little Richard : You were black!
Chuck Berry : Tell him again. Will you tell him, man, again.
Little Richard : You was black and you they didn't want that black influence over their kids. You was a hero. And the kids was lookin' up to you. And they didn't want their kids...
Chuck Berry : What kids? What kids?
Little Richard : They didn't want the white kids lookin' up at this big 'ol greasy black guy...
Chuck Berry : Greasy!
Little Richard : Out of Georgia, out of Mississippi, or out of Chicago. They want their kids to see a smooth, white, blond, lookin' pretty, and on duty and lookin' rooty, you know. And so here's a black guy that's singin' and screamin' and beamin' and steamin' and they say, "No, no, no!"
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Chuck Berry : [singing] Tell me who's the girl, Standin' over by the record machine, Looking like a model, On the cover of a magazine, She's too cute to be a minute over seventeen. Meanwhile I was thinkin', She's in the mood, No need to break it, I got a chance, I oughta take it, If she can dance, We can make it, C'mon Queenie, Let's shake it, I said, go! Go! Go! Little Queenie...
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Chuck Berry : Mostly all the people, if they are not now, they'll soon be in love. And those that have love and are out of love, remember love; so, write about love.
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Chuck Berry : As long as the music is - has something to do with your walk of life, I think the people will listen.
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Chuck Berry : Everybody repeat after me: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll! Delivery me from the days of old, Long live Rock 'n' Roll!
