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Chuck Berry has died
- bengg 10y agoOne of the first celebs to create a sex tape, Berry famously coined the phrase "I like to do that" after farting in the face of a hooker. The video was recovered in the late 1980's after a drug raid on Berry's house by Police. A great man has left the world. http://efukt.com/21881_Chuck_Berry_Farting_On_Hookers.html http://efukt.com/21881_Chuck_Berry_Farting_On_Hookers.html
- slg 10y agoReading this obituary reminds me of Michael Jackson's death. Someone dies and suddenly all the bad things in their life are expunged. Berry was a very influential and talented musician but he spent time in prison related to being caught with a 14 year old suspected prostitute. He spent time in prison for robbery. He spent time in prison for tax evasion. He settled a lawsuit for video taping 50+ women including underage girls in the bathroom of his restaurant. I get it, no one is perfect and a person's death is a time to celebrate their life, but these crimes are part of his legacy. Not even giving them a passing mention in his obituary sends a horrible message that if you are talented enough you can get away with anything. EDIT: This is currently the top comment, which likely isn't fair either. These things are a part of the story of his life but they also probably shouldn't be the top line. My point is simply we should be talking about his entire life and this is a poor obituary for not even mentioning it. The New York Times has a better obituary available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/arts/chuck-berry-dead.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/arts/chuck-berry-dead.htm...
- djtriptych 10y agoWait was Michael Jackson ever convicted of a crime? How can you conflate the two?
- MisterBastahrd 10y agoNo, but he settled lawsuits accusing him of being a child predator before they made it to court.
- djtriptych 10y agoIt was settled by his insurance company, against MJ's wishes. He was also actually tried, and found not guilty on 14 charges. Not quite the same boat as Chuck Berry. In any case, I'm a "separate the art from artist" kind of guy. There are no saints.
- volkk 10y agoAt what point do you conjoin the two? Does the line vary? If a brilliant painter turns out to be a convicted pedophile, for instance, would you still hang their art on your wall? Just curious to hear opinions. I was just wondering about this sort of thing the other day.
- djtriptych 10y agoI guess I'd say that great art always speaks truth, and that truth has no need for morality. In particular I might argue that society might be better off if we were collectively more offended by bad art than by good art made by bad people.
- volkk 10y agoI see the argument. How bout this scenario: We uncover that Hitler (hello Godwin's law) was a master sculptor, absolutely unparalleled. His art speaks volumes, especially to those unbeknownst of its origins. How do you see the art being viewed then? On one hand, he has the legacy of attempting genocide, but on the other hand his art is amazing. What are the morality guidelines behind this sort of predicament? Does humanity keep it on display in a museum and continue his legacy in the vicinity of works such as Rembrandt's? Even though it would undoubtedly offend millions? Does the fact that it's great art outweigh the social negativity surrounding the whole predicament?
- rmason 10y agoChuck Berry was so much a part of my childhood. As a kid in Detroit I was a fan of WXYZ disk jockey Lee 'the horn" Allen. He was good friends with Berry and often told the story that Chuck wrote several of his hits in the back seat of his Caddy as they went from bar to bar. As I went through school his music was never far behind. Even in his eighties he could still rock the joint. Hoping I could see him do it in his nineties but I guess not.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago>> Hoping I could see him do it in his nineties but I guess not. He was supposed to have a new album in the works so you might at least still get to hear that.
- alistproducer2 10y agoSort of relevant. I was watching an old movie that featured the original writer and performer of "I put a spell on you." His name is screamin' j Hawkins. I actually thought he was doing a cover. Apparently he is the real father of shock rock. I consider myself to be a music afficionado and I was completely unaware of this guy's contributions. I'm sure there are many that don't know how much Chuck contributed to the creation of rock. Rest in peace man.
- 67726e 10y agoEither Screamin' Jay or Arthur Brown (see: Fire), I would think? Then again Chuck did really bring the showmanship. The TV series Metal Evolution has a nice little episode on shock rock if you find the topic interesting. With that said, I'm not big on eulogizing so I'll steal a friend's Facebook post: Now free of his corporeal confines, Ghost Chuck Berry can watch you pee wherever he wants. Roll Over Beethoven.
- alrs 10y agoI hope you've heard Sister Rosetta Tharpe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_n0vkzc8PU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_n0vkzc8PU
- alistproducer2 10y agoI actually have not. Thanks for sharing that. Now I've got something to watch tonight.
- boxerab 10y agoThanks for sharing this!
- thunderbong 10y agoThank you. Really. I hadn't heard of her before. She's incredible!
- krylon 10y agoI had heard of her, but then I forgot her name. :( Thanks!!! She is awesome!
- brudgers 10y ago"Send more Chuck Berry"
- cyberferret 10y agoChuck would have been (in one way or another) the inspiration for almost everyone who plays guitar today. Aside from "Stairway to Heaven", the opening riff to "Johnny B Goode" is one lick that almost every guitarist learns to play. I've been playing that lick for 40 years, but still can't get it to sound as cool as Chuck did... RIP.
- tnecniv 10y agoThat lick is my go to when I'm in the middle of a solo and need a minute to think about where to go (and he definitely plays it cooler than me). Even if lots of people today aren't aware of him, they're probably aware of the uncountable number of artists he directly influenced. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen [0] immediately come to mind. [0] Coincidentally, I was watching a video of a Springsteen concert where he was arranging a cover of a Chuck Berry song for his band on the spot yesterday: https://youtu.be/L-Ds-FXGGQg https://youtu.be/L-Ds-FXGGQg
- cyberferret 10y agoExactly. Many youngsters I meet today who were inspired by more contemporary guitarist usually don't realise that their heroes were in turn influenced by Chuck. He was definitely one of the 'founding fathers' of modern guitar playing.
- Joeboy 10y agoAnd most who associate that riff with Chuck Berry aren't aware of this 1946 version of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEqiWTb-UWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEqiWTb-UWA Edit: Fixed link
- tnecniv 10y agoI thought the parent was referring to playing a fifth on the top two strings with a slide, not the blues shuffle (which dates back to at least Robert Johnson).
- mgkimsal 10y ago"the great 28" was part of my musical "coming of age" in the 80s, and I definitely annoyed the heck out of everyone else in the house practicing along to that double album. this is one of those people whose influence and impact will be felt for decades to come (like les paul, hendrix and many other icons)
- acheron 10y agoWill never forget that time Marty McFly taught him how to play rock and roll.
- pthreads 10y ago"I guess you guys aren't ready for it yet, but your kids are going to love it."
- coldcode 10y agoMany people don't realize that the only #1 hit Chuck ever had was the novelty song "My Ding-a-Ling". It still cracks me up.
- bamboozled 10y agoIt's hard to imagine how much of an positive impact Chuck's music has had on the world over the last several decades. I think it's worth mentioning that his music was selected to represent earth on "Music from Earth" [1] which is a pretty great honour in my opinion. Whether or not any other extra-terrestrials get to groove out to some Chuck one time is another thing, but I sure hope they do. Rest in peace Chuck Berry, thanks for all the great music! [1] http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html
- jumper2444 10y agoRIP Chuck. I guess nobody saw the video of him pissing and farting on hookers huh? Classic Chuck.
- andrepd 10y agoI'm not sure what you're referring to, neither do I see how that has any relevance right now.
- jumper2444 10y agoProbably best to keep an unsullied image of him. Top comment right now touches on this in a much less inflammatory way. Basically he filmed himself urinating on, amongst other things, probably underage prostitutes in his restaurant.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- jbuzbee 10y agoA brilliant showman. If you can make your way through the corny "Rock! Rock! Rock!"[1] movie of 1957 you'll see some pretty awful performances from artists of the day. But then on comes Berry[2] His segment was heads-and-shoulders above the rest and still enjoyable today. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCt4_Dwt-Lk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCt4_Dwt-Lk [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jKrHzps0XM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jKrHzps0XM
- vesinisa 10y agoThe first video is some one and half hours long. Any idea where to skip for the Berry performance? edit: Ah, I get it, the second link is the Berry's performance starting at 22:34.
- jbuzbee 10y agoSee link [2] above. Watch his body-language. His facial expressions. His unique dance-movements. Where did all that come from? He was an original
- weinzierl 10y agoWhen it comes to showmanship his 1972 performance in London with Rocking Horse [1] is my favourite. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrOr3WKmyY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrOr3WKmyY
- harambaebae69 10y agoAgreed. But love the art, not the artist. He was arrested for transporting a 14-year-old girl across state lines for immoral purposes, set up hidden cameras in his restaurant bathroom, and was accused of a bunch of some other stuff that makes Trump look like a feminist by comparison.
- Pro_bity 10y agoI am curious, when HN became reddit? This seems like a total social shit post not in keeping with HN.
- echlebek 10y agoComments like this are not very useful. If the post hits the front, lots of people obviously found it relevant.
- coldtea 10y agoHN was always more than mere startup culture / computer science posts. The same way that every balanced programmer (or scientist for that matter) has always been. And it's difficult to be an entrepreneur of any major scale if one doesn't understand the society they live in, its culture, and its roots. Selling socks, maybe.
- krapp 10y agoCelebrity news and gossip is explicitly the sort of mainstream content which HN is supposed to select against, and which doesn't belong here. No one on Hacker News cared enough about Chuck Berry to post about him when he was alive, why should his death be worth discussing now?
- dang 10y agoSomeone's death is often a moment to consider them, and HN has had discussions like this for years. I'm sure no two readers share the same list of which such discussions belong on HN, but as long as it's not excessive or predictable I don't see why we shouldn't have them. Chuck Berry's a pretty important historical figure.
- backpropaganda 10y agoWhy isn't this thread being flagged/deleted? EDIT: I mean the comment thread, not the post.
- Brendinooo 10y agoI always found it amazing that the guy who could be credited for the birth of rock'n'roll more than anyone else was still alive. Longevity isn't as much of a thing in the rock circles, and the genre has changed so much over time. Also, major props for putting out a new studio album almost 40 years after his previous one.[1] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_(Chuck_Berry_album) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_(Chuck_Berry_album)
- gexla 10y agoChuck Berry and Elvis generally get the "King" label not because of the music they created, but because they achieved mainstream success with that music. They crossed the racial divide to bring music which had very much a black background (but also a white background) to the white youth of the day. Another artist which often gets the "King" label is Little Richard, but for the music rather than level of success.
- grabcocque 10y agoThis was one of those TIL xxx was still alive moments.
- exabrial 10y agoA bit of interesting history about the es-345 Marty used to play Chuck Berry's Johnny be good in back to the future: http://bit.ly/2mHQzFG http://bit.ly/2mHQzFG Spoiler: The guitar also traveled through time
- maus42 10y agoI think it's remarkable that a recording of Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode [1] printed on gold is on its way towards Gliese 445 [2]. [1] http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html?linkId=35613580 http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html?linkId=356... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record
- jumper2444 10y agoIncredible musician and such an influence on so many people. Though, he has a history. (Disclaimer: If you love him, or don't find shocking videos hilarious, don't watch this video.) https://goo.gl/QfhKje https://goo.gl/QfhKje
- bboreham 10y agoOne day, I thought "I should go see Chuck Berry, because he's getting old and I'd like to see him before he dies" So I did. That was in 1987. Unlike standard rock concerts, Chuck Berry came on stage at exactly the time printed on the tickets. He played exactly one hour, then he went off again. No encores, no banter. It was great, though. RIP.
- vasira 10y agoRIP ! very sad to hear this. His guitar style was unique and popular. We all will miss you