MovieChat Forums > Chuck Berry Discussion > got this book..

got this book..

posted 9 months ago by [deleted]
9 replies | jump to latest

https://www.amazon.com/Chuck-Berry-American-RJ-Smith/dp/0306921634/ref=sr_1_1?crid=B9STH9IQD8HX&keywords=chuck+berry&qid=1691194335&s=books&sprefix=chuck+berry%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C478&sr=1-1

[–] [deleted] 9 months ago

i have read a hundred pages, chuck is not weird yet but the signs are there.

[–] [deleted] 9 months ago

why was he so weird sexually? the book doesn't really answer it. he wasn't abused as a kid. he had cameras everywhere and had large collection of amateur porn
some others points:

he never met elvis and called him a white dude with a great voice
he had a long feud with jerry lee lewis
he always insisted on being paid in cash and was a cheap bastard.
he wasn't impressed with other celebrities, the only person he asked for an autograph was bob hope who he met on a plane. hope had no idea who he was
net worth at death was $50 million.
only number one hit was my ding a ling
musicians hated working for him. he would change things up in the middle of a song.
had no respect for the people who idolized him like jagger and richards
probably was bipolar. he wouldn't go anywhere near a psychiatrist
never divorced his wife who was looked after and he was a decent father
loved screwing white chicks. he saw it as racial revenge.

[–] Otter (24464) 9 months ago

Why is anyone weird sexually? Usually it's just because they like it!

Not all kinks are pathological or the result of trauma, sometimes people just discover that something gets them harder than other things, so that's what they do when they get the chance. And well, rock stars get a lot of chances to do what they enjoy.

[–] [deleted] 9 months ago

it was pathological with chuck - urination and scat porn. real stuff.

[–] Puvwall (1221) 8 months ago

Little richard, also a rock and roll hero of mine, did they mention them crossing paths yet ?

Yea chuck was weird, but i dont imagine the times made it easy to be normal.

I can relate to the cheap trait. I was not well off young and my single mother was super cheap. Now that i have my own family i try to change that about my personality constantly. But its always there, I regonize it tho, and try to change it

[–] [deleted] 8 months ago

i think you are right about him being cheap. but he was pathological about it. sometimes he would refuse to perform minutes before showtime. holding the promoters hostage for more cash. little richard was a competitor. chuck never had a lot of friends in the industry or outside.

[–] GolfnGuitars (2400) 8 months ago

"had no respect for the people who idolized him like jagger and richards"

I (respectfully) disagree with this one...to a certain degree. I think Chuck Berry did have a bit of a chip on his shoulder (along with Little Richard)...I believe he felt he wasn't given enough credit for the "explosion" of rock & roll (and that it was racial in nature...to be honest, he probably wasn't wrong). And he probably felt that the "big acts" of the 60s (Beatles, Stones, etc.) rode on his coattails, so to speak.

But he did perform with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lennon, etc. I do agree he would have been tough to play with...but a lot of artists from that era were that way (Bob Dylan was like that...he'd change keys and perform songs completely different from the recorded versions).

I do think Chuck Berry was a very flawed person...but, man, what a guitarist, songwriter, musician, and singer he was. IMO, he definitely doesn't get the respect he deserves for his musical contributions. He was so influential and should be right up there with Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, etc., as a musical legend.

[–] [deleted] 8 months ago

richards produced a documentary about berry in the 1980s. berry was difficult to deal with, he only cared about the cash - upfront. he always put on a fine performance for the audience.

[–] GolfnGuitars (2400) 8 months ago

Yes...he was an entertainer extrordinaire. There's a reason why Marty McFly decided to cover "Johnny B. Goode" in " Back To The Future!" 😃