In Honor Of The Late Rocker Chuck Berry Who Helped Make It All Possible-HAIL, HAIL CHUCK BERRY
DVD REVIEW
HAIL, HAIL ROCK AND ROCK, TAYLOR HACKFORD, 1987, DVD RELEASE 2006
Long ago, in the mists of time, I was listening to my radio when Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode came thundering across the airways. I have been a fan ever since and never looked back. As portrayed in Hail, Hail Rock and Roll neither did Chuck Berry. There may be continuing controversy about the roots of rock and rock-whether it derived from rhythm and blues, rock-a-billy, jazzed up country or all of them- but as the tributes by later performers across the musician and racial spectrum that are dotted throughout this documentary testify to- Chuck Berry was at the center of the storm.
This film is focused on preparations by the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, an ardent admirer, to put together a celebration for Berry’s 60th birthday in his hometown of St. Louis. It also offers as background a glimpse into Chuck’s work ethic, his engaging, if prickly, personality and his very individualistic slant on life. The concert itself is highlighted by the work of Berry and Richards along with guest spots by the likes of Linda Rhonstadt who blows away the house on Back in the U.S.A., Etta James, Julian Lennon and many others who in the past had covered his work. An additional 3 discs give more detailed background on the making of the the original film and provide extra musical treats cut out of the film.
One does not unusually associate the old time black rock and rollers like Berry, Little Richard and Bo Didderly with politics, civil rights or black consciousness, as such. Thus, it was interesting to hear in some of the ‘talking head’ sections interspersed throughout the documentary their take on what it was like to be black, talented, and many times poor and struggling in a white world that had the discretionary income to listen to their music. Nevertheless, due to the hard segregation of the times they faced insult, scorn and slick dealings from the white-dominated musical world that counted. The most poignant moment of the whole film is when Berry notes that the theater where his celebration was to occur had been off-limits to him as a youth and that just a short distance away from that site his forbears were sold into slavery. Now that is testimony to a very simple but elegant sense of political consciousness.
DVD REVIEW
HAIL, HAIL ROCK AND ROCK, TAYLOR HACKFORD, 1987, DVD RELEASE 2006
Long ago, in the mists of time, I was listening to my radio when Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode came thundering across the airways. I have been a fan ever since and never looked back. As portrayed in Hail, Hail Rock and Roll neither did Chuck Berry. There may be continuing controversy about the roots of rock and rock-whether it derived from rhythm and blues, rock-a-billy, jazzed up country or all of them- but as the tributes by later performers across the musician and racial spectrum that are dotted throughout this documentary testify to- Chuck Berry was at the center of the storm.
This film is focused on preparations by the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, an ardent admirer, to put together a celebration for Berry’s 60th birthday in his hometown of St. Louis. It also offers as background a glimpse into Chuck’s work ethic, his engaging, if prickly, personality and his very individualistic slant on life. The concert itself is highlighted by the work of Berry and Richards along with guest spots by the likes of Linda Rhonstadt who blows away the house on Back in the U.S.A., Etta James, Julian Lennon and many others who in the past had covered his work. An additional 3 discs give more detailed background on the making of the the original film and provide extra musical treats cut out of the film.
One does not unusually associate the old time black rock and rollers like Berry, Little Richard and Bo Didderly with politics, civil rights or black consciousness, as such. Thus, it was interesting to hear in some of the ‘talking head’ sections interspersed throughout the documentary their take on what it was like to be black, talented, and many times poor and struggling in a white world that had the discretionary income to listen to their music. Nevertheless, due to the hard segregation of the times they faced insult, scorn and slick dealings from the white-dominated musical world that counted. The most poignant moment of the whole film is when Berry notes that the theater where his celebration was to occur had been off-limits to him as a youth and that just a short distance away from that site his forbears were sold into slavery. Now that is testimony to a very simple but elegant sense of political consciousness.
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