Chuck Berry only ever wrote one song and continued to re-write that one song for the length of his entire career. The one song he wrote he ripped off from the piano chords of Johnnie Johnson. But no one gives a damn because Chuck more-or-less invented rock and roll. Cars, girls, school, movies, girls school, cars, etc, etc.
Taylor Hackford's slick and slyly incisive chronicle revolves around Berry's 60th birthday show - an event coordinated and realised by none other than Johnny Depp's dad, Keef Richards. It reveals Berry by turns as an egomaniac, money grubber and genuine musical genius. The film is a blast for anyone who is in the least bit interested in the roots of rock music and the trajectory of it's influence. Richards said of Berry "Before him, there was nothing." I can almost believe it.
Taylor Hackford's slick and slyly incisive chronicle revolves around Berry's 60th birthday show - an event coordinated and realised by none other than Johnny Depp's dad, Keef Richards. It reveals Berry by turns as an egomaniac, money grubber and genuine musical genius. The film is a blast for anyone who is in the least bit interested in the roots of rock music and the trajectory of it's influence. Richards said of Berry "Before him, there was nothing." I can almost believe it.