Chuck Berry by RJ Smith

Author:RJ Smith [Smith, RJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2022-11-08T00:00:00+00:00

A Motor City DJ came down to Chicago in early 1963, pitching Leonard Chess on bringing Berry to a place outside Detroit where the guy booked shows. Chess had obscured Berry’s extended absence the best he could through ads placed in the trades (“Chuck Berry is back!”) hyping “new” singles (or stuff never intended for release). So when Chess explained point-blank why Berry wouldn’t be available, it was news to the DJ.

Some months later, though, Lee Alan’s phone rang in Detroit and it was Chess, saying Berry was now free and available—and they wanted him booked at Alan’s Walled Lake Casino now, that very weekend. Berry had been out about two weeks, and his probation officer was demanding proof that he held a job. Chess needed a show fast, and it had to be in a place where Chuck could also record live—Chess wanted to show fans and the parole board alike that Berry really was back and playing his way into the future. Alan, who broadcast shows live from the casino, said that would be no problem.

Alan picked up Berry at his Detroit motel, putting his guitar and amp in his Corvette. They were running late, and traffic was unexpectedly bad.

Halfway to Walled Lake with less than an hour to airtime, Alan spotted a highway patrolman driving down the shoulder and waved him to a stop. He asked when the wreck blocking progress would be cleared.

“That’s no accident, everybody’s lined up to go to Walled Lake and see Chuck Berry,” the trooper said.

“Guess what?” said Alan, gesturing to his passenger. “You’re the first one to see him.”

The patrolman offered to give Berry a ride to the show, but for whatever reason the musician politely declined the offer.

They followed the officer to the casino and made it in time. Alan had hired a profound backup crew, a Motown house band that included bassist James Jamerson, drummer Richard Allen, tenor saxophonist Hank Cosby, and pianist Johnny Griffith. The venue was an old big band dance hall with a polished maple dance floor, about thirty miles from Detroit.

The star was meeting the band offstage when Alan approached to bring Berry out. Instead, Berry told him he wouldn’t go on until he got paid. And he wasn’t taking checks.

Alan raced to the box office and got $1,000, much of it in singles, packed in a brown paper bag.

All four thousand people in the full house were clapping their hands and stomping to make the wood hall shake.

Berry counted out the money. When he was done, Alan said with a relieved voice, “OK, we’re ready.”

“No, I want to count it again,” said the star. It sure felt good to be having fun again.5

Berry had a cold that first night, and his voice gave out. He was working to get his guitar skills back in shape; he told Alan they hadn’t let him have a guitar in prison and that’s why his playing was rough. Announcer Dave Prince heard him wonder out loud if the crowd was going to like him.

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