Thoughts on Chuck Berry, 1926-2017

Chuck Berry, 1926-2017.

Rock and roll lost one of its greatest musicians when Chuck Berry died on March 18^th. Berry was one of the most influential artists from rock and roll’s first wave of popularity. One measure of how influential Berry was is the long list of artists who covered his songs: Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Rivers, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and many, many more. 

I’ve enjoyed Berry’s music since I was a kid. I remember back at the beginning of 6^th grade, in the fall of 1992, just before I discovered the Beatles, being asked for a science class project who my favorite musicians were. I said Antonio Vivaldi and Chuck Berry. I’m betting I was the only kid who mentioned those two artists. (I’m not sure why I didn’t say the Beach Boys, who were one of my favorite groups before I got into the Beatles.) My Dad and I went to see Chuck Berry at Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota in 1996. (The internet told me the exact date was July 11, 1996.) We had really good seats, very close to the stage. I can’t remember a lot about that concert, but he played all of his hits and did the duck walk. It was fantastic to see a living legend of rock in person.

I can’t say that I’ve explored Berry’s music much beyond the hits-my memories of his music will always be tied to his 1982 compilation, “The Great Twenty-Eight,” which my Dad and I listened to on road trips, first on cassette, then on CD. But wherever I’ve been over the last twenty-five years, Chuck Berry’s music has always put a smile on my face. 

Chuck Berry really pointed the way forward for rock and roll. He was more typical of the direction that rock music would take than Elvis Presley. Elvis was a great singer, but he wasn’t much of a guitar player or a songwriter. Chuck Berry, on the other hand, wasn’t much of a singer, but he was a great guitar player and a great songwriter. The future of rock, for the most part, would be with people who wrote their own songs, and/or also played an instrument. That’s an oversimplification, of course, but I think there’s some truth to it-that Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly were more typical of what we now think of as rock and roll than Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson. I think that’s one of the reasons why Chuck Berry has remained so influential after all these years. He also wrote some damn fine songs.

Concert Review: "Ricky Nelson Remembered," with Matthew and Gunnar Nelson at the Dakota Jazz Club

Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, twin sons of Ricky Nelson.

Rick Nelson with his sons Matthew and Gunnar, 1980's.

Ricky Nelson, circa 1960.

Ricky Nelson’s twin sons Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, of the rock group Nelson, performed a tribute show to their father at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on Sunday night. During the show, titled “Ricky Nelson Remembered,” Matthew and Gunnar played many of Ricky’s biggest hits, and showed some film clips of their dad. It was a great show, and it’s clear how much Matthew and Gunnar love their dad.

I’ve written about Rick Nelson before, two years ago I wrote an overview of his career and last year I shared my own playlists for my “Best of Rick Nelson” CDs, Volume 1 and Volume 2. I’m a big fan of his music, so I was excited when I heard that Matthew and Gunnar were bringing their show to the Dakota. As always, the Dakota was a great space for the concert, as it was intimate and inviting, with great sound.

Matthew and Gunnar Nelson have been playing music since their childhood, and they shot to fame thanks to their 1990 album “After the Rain,” which featured the Number One single “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection.” That made the Nelson family the only family to have three generations of musical artists with Number One hits, as Ricky hit Number One with “Poor Little Fool” and “Travelin’ Man,” and Ricky’s dad Ozzie reached Number One on the charts back in the 1930’s with his big band.

The Nelson brothers shared some stories about growing up in Hollywood, and how their neighbor, who they called “crazy-haired guy,” was actually Bob Dylan. Their next door neighbor, who they called “Skinny Jesus,” was George Harrison. No wonder they grew up to be musicians. 

Matthew and Gunnar played and sang many of their dad’s biggest hits, like “Stood Up,” “Lonesome Town,” “Poor Little Fool,” “Travelin’ Man,” Hello Mary Lou,” and “Garden Party.” The bass player in their band is Tommy Vee, the son of Minnesota’s own 1960’s teen idol, Bobby Vee. The Nelsons invited Tommy Vee’s son and their drummer Noah Levy’s son up on stage to play on “Believe What You Say.” The youngsters, just 12 and 13, played drums and lead guitar and did a great job. Matthew and Gunnar spoke about how their dad let them open for him when they were just 14 years old and how much that meant to them. 

The Nelsons harmonize together beautifully, and in addition to their dad’s songs they also played two recent songs that they’ve written, “A Thousand Wild Horses” and “Just Once More.” Both songs were quite beautiful and touching; as “Just Once More” is about wishing they could see their dad one more time. Both Matthew and Gunnar are talented musicians with a lot of charisma and stage presence.

What struck me hearing all of Ricky Nelson’s hits again is how good his songs are. They are some of the best songs of the early rock and roll period, and they still sound fresh and vibrant today. It was a real treat hearing his sons play and sing those songs.

My only complaint with “Ricky Nelson Remembered” is that the film clips could have been longer. They could have showed clips of Rick singing some songs that they didn’t include in the show. I know that would have made the show longer, but I don’t think it would have detracted from the show at all. And for the record, seeing the clips of Rick Nelson is a reminder of what a remarkably handsome man he was. He was really just as handsome as Elvis, and he certainly aged better than Elvis did.

If you’re a fan of Ricky Nelson’s music, you’ll really enjoy seeing his sons perform his songs in “Ricky Nelson Remembered.”

Mix CD, "The Best of Ricky Nelson, Volume 2"

Rick Nelson driving a Studebaker Avanti, 1960's.

Rick Nelson, 1981.

In my previous post I covered a mix CD I made “The Best of Ricky Nelson, Volume 1,” which included all of Ricky’s Top 20 hit singles. For “The Best of Ricky Nelson, Volume 2,” I dug a little deeper to include my favorite Rick Nelson songs that were album tracks or lesser hit singles.  This is a pretty subjective list, and there are definitely some hit singles that I didn’t include on this CD.

Here are the 28 songs:

1. You Tear Me Up

2. My Babe

3. Milk Cow Blues

4. That's All

5. Summertime

6. String Along

7. The Very Thought of You

8. Since I Don't Have You

9. Mean Old World

10. Blue Moon of Kentucky

11. Mystery Train

12. You Just Can't Quit

13. Easy to Be Free

14. She Belongs to Me

15. I Shall Be Released

16. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You

17. Love Minus Zero/No Limit

18. Honky Tonk Women

19. I'm Talking About You

20. I Don't Want to Be Lonely Tonight

21. Mama, You Been On My Mind

22. That's All Right

23. Rave On

24. True Love Ways

25. Dream Lover

26. Almost Saturday Night

27. Believe What You Say

28. That's All Right

Here’s some commentary about the songs:

You Tear Me Up-1959-from “Ricky Sings Again”: This is a great “All Shook Up”-style pop song. I’m surprised it wasn’t released as a single.

My Babe-1958-from “Ricky Nelson”: A cover of the Willie Dixon song, it shows that Ricky could indeed sing the blues. It features excellent guitar work by James Burton, as usual. 

Milk Cow Blues-1960-B-side of “You Are the Only One”: A cover of a song that Elvis recorded for Sun Records. Ricky’s vocal is impassioned, and the song shows the influence that Elvis and other rockabilly artists like Carl Perkins had on Ricky.

That’s All-1959-from “Songs By Ricky”: Changing gears, this is a lovely ballad version of this standard, which has been sung by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Mathis and Bobby Darin. Darin’s exuberant and up-tempo version is from 1959 as well, and it’s the title of his breakthrough album that also features “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea.” Ricky’s version features his typical ballad dreaminess.

Summertime-1962-from “Album Seven By Rick”: No, Rick’s early albums weren’t very creatively titled. But this rock/blues version of the Gershwin classic is quite creative. 

String Along-1963-from “For Your Sweet Love”: This was Rick’s first Top 40 single for Decca Records, and it’s actually a cover of a Fabian song from 1960. Needless to say, Rick’s version is much better than Fabian’s. Sonically, “String Along” is given the “Poor Little Fool” treatment, and it’s an addictive earworm that’s one of my favorites among Rick’s lesser hit singles. 

The Very Thought of You-1964-from “The Very Thought of You”: After Rick had hits with “Fools Rush In” and “For You,” his next single was “The Very Thought of You,” yet another song from his father Ozzie’s big band era. Which makes me think that Decca was not having success in getting writers to pen original hits for Rick, hence these versions of old songs. The arrangement of “The Very Thought of You” sounds a lot like “For You,” but it’s still an enjoyable song. This was Rick’s last Top 40 single until “She Belongs to Me” in 1969. Side note: the Decca album that “Fools Rush In” and “For You” were on was called “Rick Nelson sings ‘For You.’” As part of their ongoing campaign to confuse Rick’s fans, his old label Imperial promptly issued an album of old material called “Rick Nelson Sings For You.” The only difference is the lack of quotation marks around “For You.” Sneaky.

Since I Don’t Have You-1965-from “Best Always”: This is one of my favorite Rick Nelson album tracks. Originally a hit for the doo-wop group The Skyliners in 1958, this song features some great high notes from Rick.

Mean Old World-1965-from “Best Always”: This is a downbeat song with a passionate vocal from Rick. He practically screams the last refrain of “Oh, I need someone!”

Blue Moon of Kentucky-1966-from “Rick’s Rarities-1964-1974”: Rick turned towards country for two albums in the mid-1960’s, since his pop records were not making much of a dent in the charts. This is an excellent version of the Bill Monroe bluegrass classic, which was of course memorably covered by Elvis on Sun Records. For some reason, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” wasn’t released on either on either of Rick’s country albums and stayed in the vaults until 2004.

Mystery Train-1967-from “Country Fever”: Another great version of an Elvis Sun classic. James Burton unfurls some licks that he’ll use again in a couple of years when he’s playing the song live with Elvis in Las Vegas.

You Just Can’t Quit-1966-from “Bright Lights & Country Music”: A Rick Nelson original, this song reflects Rick’s position in the pop culture world of 1966. “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” was finally canceled in 1966, after 14 years on TV, and Rick’s singles and albums were having no impact on an indifferent public. Like every other rock and roller from the 1950’s, Rick’s career was being swept away by the Beatles and the British Invasion. But Rick vows to carry on, as he sings, “When the whole world puts you down/And makes you feel like a clown/That’s not it/You just can’t quit.”

Easy To be Free-1969-single A-side, available on “The Best of Rick Nelson 1963-1975”: This is probably my favorite song that Rick Nelson wrote. It’s a gorgeous tune, with idealistic and yearning lyrics. “Did you ever want to go/Where you’ve never been before/Did you ever want to know/Things you’ve never known before/I’ll take you there with me/And maybe then you’ll see it’s easy to be free.” 

She Belongs to Me-1969-single A-side, available on “The Best of Rick Nelson 1963-1975”: A cover of a Bob Dylan song, this was Rick’s first single with the Stone Canyon Band, and the first to highlight his new country rock sound. After a few years of floundering, Rick had found a sound that really worked for him. I think that Rick was a great interpreter of Bob Dylan’s songs; he really should have recorded an entire album of Dylan songs. I think the contrast between Dylan’s nasally voice and Rick’s sweet and pure voice makes Rick’s versions of Dylan’s songs really interesting.

I Shall Be Released-live-1969-from “In Concert, the Troubadour, 1969”: Taken from his first concerts with the Stone Canyon Band, “In Concert” was a triumphant album for Rick. It showed that the former teen idol had grown up and matured, and had also become an excellent song writer. This cover of the Bob Dylan song, first sung by The Band, was one of the highlights of the album, featuring an excellent vocal from Rick, and great support by the Stone Canyon Band.

Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You-live-1969-from “In Concert, the Troubadour, 1969”: A Bob Dylan song from 1969’s “Nashville Skyline,” I’ve always thought that Elvis would have done a great version of it. Elvis never recorded it, but thankfully Rick Nelson did, and Rick brought the sexiness to the song that Dylan’s version is missing. Unfortunately, this song was unreleased until the 2011 2-Disc CD of the Troubadour shows, which I would highly recommend to any Rick Nelson fan.

Love Minus Zero/No Limit-1971-from “Rudy the Fifth”: Another Dylan song, Rick’s beautiful voice works well against Dylan’s obscure lyrics. 

Honky Tonk Women-1971-from “Rudy the Fifth”: This is the song that caused all of the fuss for Rick when he sang it at an oldies show in Madison Square Garden in 1971. Fans booed, and Rick thought they were booing his choice of material. Some stories suggest that fans were booing other rowdy fans, but whatever the cause of the booing, it inspired Rick to write his 1972 hit “Garden Party.” Rick’s studio recording of the Rolling Stones hit was excellent, with some filthy guitar work. 

I’m Talking About You-1972-from “Garden Party”: There are many great songs from the “Garden Party” album, like “A Flower Opens Gently By,” but I chose this Chuck Berry song because of the excellent band performance. Rick had previously sung “I’m Talking About You” on 1964’s “Spotlight on Rick,” you can listen to that version to see how much his music had changed in 8 years.

I Don’t Want to Be Lonely Tonight-1974-from “Windfall”: Not to be confused with the similarly-named James Taylor song of the same period, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” Side note: I think Rick Nelson would have done great versions of James Taylor’s songs. Written by Baker Knight, who had written “Lonesome Town” and other hits for Nelson, this energetic song really should have been released as a single, it could have been a big hit.

Mama, You Been On My Mind-1978-from “The Complete Epic Recordings”: After Decca, which had by this time become MCA Records, dropped Nelson in 1975, he signed with Epic Records. Rick’s time at Epic would be extremely frustrating, as he recorded enough material for 3 albums, but saw only one issued in his lifetime, 1977’s “Intakes.” “Mama, You Been On My Mind” is another excellent version of a Bob Dylan song, and it was cut for an album that would have been called “Back to Vienna,” but once the album was complete Epic shelved the master tapes. Fortunately, all of Rick’s Epic recordings were issued in 2012 on the excellent 2-disc set “The Complete Epic Recordings.” 

That’s All Right-1978-from “The Complete Epic Recordings”: Rick’s second unreleased Epic album was recorded in Memphis and found Rick recording many of his favorite rock songs from the 1950’s. Some of these songs were issued shortly after his death as “The Memphis Sessions.” Rick’s cover of Elvis’s first record is a highlight. 

Rave On-1978-from “The Complete Epic Recordings”: An excellent version of the Buddy Holly rocker. This was the final song that Rick Nelson sang at his final concert appearance in December 1985.

True Love Ways-1978-from “The Complete Epic Recordings”: A lovely, spare version of the Buddy Holly ballad. 

Dream Lover-1978-from “The Complete Epic Recordings”: A slowed-down version of the Bobby Darin hit, Rick performed “Dream Lover” on “Saturday Night Live” in early 1979 to a rapturous reception. Rick was hopeful that the song could become a hit, but the release of the single was delayed, supposedly because an Epic executive thought that a bongo drum should be overdubbed.  “Dream Lover” was moderately successful on the country and adult contemporary charts, but it didn’t crack the Top 100. “Dream Lover” would have been helped immensely if it had been released in support of an album, rather than as just a random single. Had Epic released the excellent “Memphis Sessions” as an album, Rick might have had another comeback hit.

Almost Saturday Night-1981-from “Playing to Win”: This was an excellent version of a John Fogerty song from “Playing to Win,” which would be the last album released in Rick’s lifetime. It’s proof that Rick could still rock and roll, even after turning 40.

Believe What You Say-1981-from “Playing to Win”: A superb re-recording of Rick’s 1958 hit single, this wasn’t just trading on past glories, but a re-imagining of one of Rick’s signature songs, with more aggressive lead guitar work.

That’s All Right-live-1983-85-from “Live 1983-1985”: I could have ended the CD with Rick’s re-recording of “Believe What You Say,” but I really like this live version of “That’s All Right,” recorded with his excellent final band. It leaves us with a glimpse of Rick Nelson as he was in his final years, still making great music, and still rocking and rolling. 

Rick Nelson died in a plane crash on December 31, 1985, while traveling to a concert in Texas. But the music that he made continues to live on. I think anyone who is familiar with Rick Nelson’s music knows that he was much more than just a teen idol; he was an excellent singer, songwriter, and performer who contributed a great deal to American rock and roll music. On this CD I’ve tried to show Rick Nelson’s versatility and his commitment to making great music. Later on in Rick’s career he was no longer making hit records, but he was still making good records, and that proves to me what a dedicated musician he truly was.