The Wednesday Poem #15 - Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry RIP

Mr Chuck Berry has left the stage.

 We won't see his like again,

Those words often said in recent years,

But never so true.

Mr Chuck Berry has left the stage.

From every player of the electric guitar,

HAIL, HAIL ROCK AND ROLL 

We Salute You.

Copyright 2017 - Roger Tichborne

For me, Chuck Berry is perhaps the most important musician of the the last century. There were technically better players, there were better song writers, there were better songwriters, there were better looking dude's, there were cleverer dudes. But there was no one else ho was Mr Chuck Berry! He invented being a Rock and Roll guitarist. Others may have refined the art, but I love my rock and roll dirty and raw. When yous aw Chuck Berry, you saw a show. I doubt there are any decent electric guitarists anywhere, who haven't at some point played Johnny B. Goode. When you were putting a rock and roll band together, it was almost a right of passage that you had a bash at Johnny B. Goode.  I had a quick search of Youtube vids of the song. Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Elvis Presley, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Coldplay, Peter Tosh, Tom Jones, Jimmy Hendrix, Prince, Suzi Quatro, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones to name a few.

But my favourite Chuck Berry song was always Roll Over Beethhoven and this is my favourite video of it. Chuck looks great in this clip. And yes, I've knocked out a rather dodgy version of Johnny B.Goode in my day! This is how I want to remember the great man!