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This is Chuck Berry
"You never can tell" - Hi and welcome to Lila's review!
When I got up on Sunday morning, I made myself a cup of tea and sat down calmly, still half asleep in front of the TV. Without having the slightest idea I turned on the TV and could not believe my still overtired eyes: Chuck Berry, musician, pioneer of Rock`n`Roll and inventor of the duck dance is dead. At the age of 90, he was found dead in his home in Missouri on Saturday evening. Our studio would like to take this opportunity to express our condolences to the family and also to the fans. To honor Chuck, here is our review.
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis Missouri. Chuck as he was called, grew up under the roof of a deacon (Henry Berry) and a school principal (Martha Berry). He began playing music at an early age and discovered his love for playing the guitar in junior high school. A legend was born. But even legends have to walk a rocky path until they reach their destination. That's how Chuck ended up serving three years in prison in 1944 for robbing three stores in Missouri. After that, he first worked in an automobile - assembly plant. In 1948, he married his wife, Themetta. In 1951, he worked as a doorman for radio station WEW, where he bought an electric guitar. SPOILER: From then on he wrote music history.
Chuck recorded a demo tape and, on the advice of Muddy Water, sent it to Leonard Chess, the former owner of Chess Records. "Ida Red" also known as "Maybellene" and "Wee Wee Hours" were released under this label. "Maybellene" made the top ten on the Billboard charts, securing Chuck a three-year contract.
Time went by and Chuck released more songs like "Little Sixteen" or "Memphis, Tennesse". In 1959 he got into a small conflict with the law again and in 1961 he got three years again. Chuck was lucky and was released early in 1963. After the incident, a year later he published the album "St. Louis to Liverpool" on which titles like "You never can tell" or "Little Marie" are.
Berry played until old age with people like "Little Richards" which we find particularly impressive. In 2008 he won the "Golden Camera" for his life's work and in 2014 the "Polar Music Prize".
Chuck announced on his 90th birthday that after 37 years he wanted to release again an album with the title "Chuck", which he wanted to dedicate to his wife "Toddy". Here is a statement which we have translated for you:
"I've been working on this album for a long time. Now I can hand in my shoes!".
Here again the original:
"I`ve worked on this record for a long time. Now I can hang up my shoes!".
Our studio thinks that he really deserves it and we hope that no matter where he is he can continue to make music 😉 Bands like "The Beatles", "Rolling Stones" but also "Jimi Hendrix" are fans of the late musician and were inspired by his music. Chuck will always be remembered as a man who made people happy with his music across generations and thus wrote music history.
Image source: Universal Music
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