I'm indebted to MarkJF, my friend and regular commenter on Simplicity for telling me about this Chuck Berry clip from You Tube. What an amazing performer Chuck Berry was/is. I read that he is still touring at 83 years of age - Fantastic - it gives us all hope! Enjoy the video (It's less than 3 minutes) and thanks again Mark. It definitely made me feel better. Actually who could fail to feel better after seeing this Chuck performance an incredible 52 years ago?
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Chuck Berry - a true legend
I'm indebted to MarkJF, my friend and regular commenter on Simplicity for telling me about this Chuck Berry clip from You Tube. What an amazing performer Chuck Berry was/is. I read that he is still touring at 83 years of age - Fantastic - it gives us all hope! Enjoy the video (It's less than 3 minutes) and thanks again Mark. It definitely made me feel better. Actually who could fail to feel better after seeing this Chuck performance an incredible 52 years ago?
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Yes, Chuck was the MAN. I cited this YouTube clip for Mark on my recent blog commentary. https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8674747094564015781&postID=1162382924825965452
To me Chuck and Little Richard were the prime movers - the prototypical rock & roll singer/songwriter/musicians.
While we're on the subject... It's really good to see a shot Johnny Rivers in there - a much overlooked but fantastic talent. This is one of my all time favourite songs. Listen to the lyrics: what a wonderful story of love, overcoming adversity: just great! (It's an old promo complete with totally inappropriate dancers in the background, poor miming and none of this matters.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHcV1lmxszU
The above should say "shot of" I'm not trying to say that Johhny is sot... far from it.
Thanks john and M<ark - I must be having a senior moment 'cos I can't remember this Johnny Rivers song ..... Pass the pills please Nurse
Having said that I must admit I like it - it is a soppy old romantic song as my late beloved Dad would have said.
You are clearly just an incurable romantic Mark :-)
Wow, I forgot about that song (Poor Side of Town) - written by Johnny Rivers and Lou Adler. Johnny in 1968 wanted to manage the band I was in and tried to talk us out of signing with a big nightclub impressario in LA - but we stupidly didn't follow Johnny's prescient advice. Nice guy as I remember.
I was just reminded that today is the 75th birthday of Elvis - whom I always seem to overlook - so I gotta write a quick post on the occasion...
And let's not forget that David Bowie is 63 today. To my mind, he's almost undoubtedly THE premier talent of the / since the 70's and still relevant today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDetQ18fw5Q
Amazing - I can't believe Elvis would have been 75 today! I wonder what further impact Elvis would have made on the world of music if he had lived until today and into the future.
Here's another question Mark and John ... and this may be the subject of a future Blog posting from me
Would the likes of Elvis, John Lennon and David Bowie made effective politicians or not?
Elvis: no.
John Lennon: yes, in a Mrs. Thatcher sort of way. He would have been a 'love him or hate him' figure; he'd do things you'd love and then things you'd hate; he'd have been inconsistent but totally from the heart and that would have chimed.
David Bowie: yes, if he'd had the patience. Unlike Lennon, Bowie (a great putter together of groups) would have had a great cabinet around him and would have delegated.
I'd agree with Mark on Bowie, who seems collaborative in his approach. But I think Lennon would still be too impulsive and opinionated for electoral politics. (McCartney, on the other hand, is a born politician.) Last year I speculated on how Lennon might have VOTED in the US presidential election. http://businesslessonsfromrock.blogspot.com/2008/04/whom-would-john-lennon-vote-for.html?showComment=1226334180000#c620760565837266123
Presley would have had to undergo a MAJOR rehab to be healthy enough to enter politics, so I guess I'd agree with Mark on that one. Elvis, incidentally, was pretty conservative in his politics and tried to help the Nixon administration deny US citizenship for John Lennon. But all is forgiven on Elvis's birthday today, which I just blogged about.
There have been lesser known rockers who have gone into politics - at least on this side of the pond. For instance, John Hall of the band, Orleans (who had a huge 70s hit with "Dance With Me"), is a US Congressman.
Fascinating insights thanks gentlemen. It's great to speculate isn't it?
I know Joe Walsh ran for President in 1908 and this is what it says on Wikipedia:
"1980 Presidential Candidacy
Walsh ran for President of the United States in 1980 on top of his music career as a mock campaign. He promised to make "Life's Been Good" the new national anthem if he won, and running on a platform of "Free Gas For Everyone." Though Walsh was not old enough to actually assume the office, he wanted to raise public awareness of the election. He then ran again for vice president in 1992."
Trevor,
I'm thinking the O'Leary and Walsh ticket in 2012 is the type of change...real change...our country needs!
Love it Dave - Fantastic suggestion!! - How about it John? - you have the right connections to get to Joe I'm sure.
By the way guys, did I tell you when we saw The Eagles last year in the 'Long Road' concert Walsh introduced his classic "Life's Been Good" as follows:
"If I'd known I was gonna have to sing this so many times I'd have written something else"
Gotta love Joe - he is a complete one off!
Thanks, Dave, but I'm in a 12-step program to handle my compulsive urges to keep running for office. Besides, several US political candidates in recent years have co-opted my trademarked formula for success (novelty over substance, charisma over character). For instance Sarah Palin didn't *ONCE* consult me before she made her run. But I'll get over it. It's just a touchy subject for me right now...
John,
Exactly my point. Sarah Palin didn't consult you and look at the result. To paraphrase from the movie Drum line...there are imitators, and there are duplicators. You sir are the Originator! Besides, I'm not not talking about politics. The fusion of politics and policy is why we find ourselves where we are today. Think of it as applied
problem solving!
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