1. History of Rock and Roll Chapter 6 Chicago and Chess Records

2. Chicago was the promised land for many southern blacks after WWII. Many moved north seeking work in factories. Chess Records was founded in the late 1940’s by Leonard and Phil Chess.

3. Chess Crossovers In the 1950’s, blues still appealed to a very small audience. Chess Records was releasing the “raw” blues—and needed to get into the dance- oriented rhythm and blues to survive. The Chess brothers began to seek artists who could appeal to R&B listeners.

4. Chess Crossovers (2) Chess’ first groups to hit the pop charts were the Moonglows and the Flamingos. These groups sang sentimental ballads in an early “doo-wop” style. The Moonglows’ “Sincerely” was popular enough to be covered by the McGuire Sisters in 1955.

5. Chess Crossovers (3) The Flamingos’ “I’ll Be Home” was covered by Pat Boone in 1956. Both covers outsold the originals (this was before Little Richard outsold Pat Boone). The Moonglows’ version made #20, while the McGuire Sisters hit #1. Pat Boone’s cover hit #4—the Flamingos didn’t make the charts!

6. Chess Crossovers (4) The Flamingos would leave Chess in 1956 and have a hit in 1959 on the End label. The Moonglows would remain with Chess and sing back-up for other records. The original Moonglows split up in 1958—but lead singer Harvey Fuqua created a new group and had a final hit with “Ten Commandments of Love.” Marvin Gaye was one of the “new” Moonglows.

7. Chess Crossovers (5) The Monotones were another Chess vocal group. They had a top ten hit with “Book of Love.” Chess’ subsidiary labels—Checker, Argo, and Cadet—would produce many “novelty” hits in the 1950’s. “Ain’t Got No Home,” “The Walk,” “Nothin’ Shakin’,” and “Susie-Q” were hits.

8. Chess Crossovers (6) Two Chess artists would become stars. Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry These two artists were two of the greatest guitar players of the time. Bo Diddley said “we were the beginning of rock & roll, and Chess Records should be labeled as that—it deserves that honor.”

9. Bo Diddley: Mississippi to Chicago Born Otha Ellis Bates on December 30, 1928, in McComb, Mississippi. His family were farmers. When his father died, he was taken in by the McDaniel family and given a new name— Ellas McDaniel. This name appears on most of his songwriting credits.

10. Bo Diddley: Mississippi to Chicago (2) In 1934, his “new” father died, and McDaniel family moved to Chicago. Schoolmates mocked his “backwoods” upbringing and gave him a nickname—Bo Diddley. This came from the name of a homemade string instrument from the South called the “diddley bow.”

11. Bo Diddley: Mississippi to Chicago (3) The family barely survived the Depression years, but managed to buy a violin for Bo. He also learned the trombone from the church musical director. However, he had his eyes on a different kind of music—and his family did not approve of him playing the “Devil’s music.”

12. Bo Diddley: Mississippi to Chicago (4) Diddley taught himself to play the guitar as a teenager. By the mid-1950’s, he was playing around the Maxwell Street market and in clubs on Chicago’s South Side. Drummer Frank Kirkland and maraca player Jerome Green would join him. This combination was distinctive and new.

13. “Bo Diddley” Diddley approached the Chess brothers in 1955 with “Uncle John.” They loved the song, but wanted to clean up the lyrics. “Uncle John” was cleaned up and became “Bo Diddley.” This song would become one of the first great rock & roll classics.

14. “Bo Diddley” (2) The entire song is really a big rhythm section—with vocal and guitar interludes set against a rhythmic background. The vocals are chant-like and the band’s accompaniment never changes chords—not once in the entire song. This should rank as one of the most boring records of all time—but is exciting instead.

15. “Bo Diddley” (3) This type of sound would be used on all of Diddley’s recordings. This was an entirely different sound from anything on the radio in 1955. The flip-side was “I’m a Man.” Other R&B hits were: “Who Do You Love,” “Mona,” “You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover,” “Cracking Up,” and “Hey Bo Diddley.”

16. “Bo Diddley” (4) Diddley’s records were constantly at the top of the R&B charts. However, his only song to hit the Top Forty on the pop charts was 1959’s “Say Man.” His music was considered “too black” for the majority of the pop audience. He toured and recorded steadily in the 1950’s and 1960’s, but never achieved a wide audience.

17. Bo Knows: The Beat Goes On Diddley was a true original. He owed very little to anyone before him. However, he influenced almost everyone who followed him. Diddley expanded the possibilities of the electric guitar in recording. Artists like Buddy Holly and James Brown would copy Diddley’s style in their music.

18. Chuck Berry Chuck Berry is the very definition of rock and roll. He defined rock’s musical style. His hits helped establish rock and roll as a musical form—no longer a hybrid of R&B and country styles.

19. Performer and Poet Berry established the guitar as THE rock instrument. He combined the styles of his guitar heroes: Muddy Waters, Charlie Christian, T-Bone Walker, and Carl Hogan. Berry was also influenced by “hillbilly” music—and included this in his songs.

20. Performer and Poet (2) Berry is called the first great rock poet. He was a very inventive songwriter. His songs tell stories—with even the tiniest details of teenage life included. His lyrics are good-natured battle cries for young fans defining their own world.

21. Performer and Poet (3) Chuck Berry proved to be the most articulate spokesman for a young, largely white audience. Berry knew that the pop market was not ready to accept a black man speaking directly from his own experiences. He wrote his songs from the perspective of the target audience.

22. Performer and Poet (4) Chuck Berry was careful to develop a clear singing voice free from “black” mannerisms. As a result, many fans—and southern concert promoters—were shocked to find out he was black. He worked to keep both black and white audiences by performing with different “voices” appropriate to the audience he was targeting.

23. Performer and Poet (5) Chuck Berry broke through color barriers. He played and sold to an integrated audience. His songs have not really “aged.” Because of this, Berry is considered to be the “eternal teenager” even though he rose to popularity when he was over 30.

24. St. Louis to Chicago Born in St. Louis, MO, on October 18, 1926. His family was lower middle-class. In 1944, Berry was sent to reform school for three years after a string of small burglaries. He then worked in his father’s carpentry business, an auto assembly plant, and studied to be a hairdresser.

25. St. Louis to Chicago (2) Berry continued to play the guitar. He joined Sir John’s Trio (with pianist Johnny Johnson) and began to play in the Cosmopolitan Club. The band was renamed the Chuck Berry Combo when his talents began to take the spotlight—especially his “hillbilly” songs.

26. St. Louis to Chicago (3) Berry went to Chicago in May, 1955. He wanted an audition with Chess Records. His “hillbilly” song, “Ida May,” caught the attention of Leonard Chess. It was renamed “Maybellene” and hit #5 on the pop chart (#1 on the R&B chart).

27. “Maybellene” “Maybellene” sounded more like a country and western song, or like a Bill Haley song, than anything ever recorded at Chess. The song opens with a “car horn,” which is one of many signature “riffs” that announce Chuck Berry’s songs. Like Bo Diddley, Berry focused on sound an rhythm in his guitar playing.

28. “Maybellene” The lyrics demonstrate Berry’s playfully descriptive writing style. “As I was motorvatin’ over the hill, I saw Maybellene in a Coupe de Ville…” This is a very detailed story about a car chase—where the performance of the cars is actually the main focus of the story.

29. “Maybellene” “Maybellene” was one of the songs involved in the “payola” scandal of the 1950’s. The songwriting credits for the song are listed as “Berry, Freed, and Fratto.” This meant that Berry, DJ Alan Freed, and Russ Fratto would split the royalties from the song. This was simply a “dignified” bribe system.

30. The Brown-Eyed Handsome Man “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man” opens with a distinctive guitar flourish that was later “borrowed” by the Beach Boys on “Surfin’ USA.” The song uses Latin rhythms and guitar interludes to accompany Berry’s playful lyrics about the trouble women have gone through searching for this man.

31. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (2) The lyrics, “brown-eyed handsome man” were considered dangerously close to “brown-skinned handsome man” by much of the pop audience. In “Johnny B. Goode,” the “little country boy” was originally a “little colored boy.” Berry changed the lyrics because he did not want to “push” the audience too far.

32. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (3) “Memphis” was recorded in Berry’s home studio on a $79 reel-to-reel recorder. Berry played all of the parts himself. The song is a detailed story of young love broken up by his sweetheart’s disapproving mother, or so it seems at first. He uses vivid imagery to set the scene, and completes the song with a twist.

33. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (4) “The last time I saw Marie she was waving me good-bye, With hurry-home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye, Marie is only six years old, information please, Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee.”

34. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (5) After hearing these lyrics, it is clear that the song is about a broken marriage and a man desperately trying to reach his daughter. In “Memphis,” as in most of his songs, Berry uses a specific character and setting to convey a story—usually about a universal truth.

35. “Roll Over, Beethoven!” This song is the first rock and roll anthem. Many parents viewed the song as proof of their kids’ poor taste and shocking lack of respect for “good music.” Berry learned a valuable lesson—teenagers would be his biggest market and he began to tailor his songs for them.

36. The Eternal Teenager “Sweet Little Sixteen” is Chuck Berry’s love letter to his fans. It was inspired by a real-life fan who missed an entire concert while trying to get his autograph. Berry also mentions American Bandstand in the song.

37. The Eternal Teenager (2) The key to Berry’s music is it’s simplicity. Berry does not seem to vary much from one song to the next. However, within these “consistent” songs, Berry creates a great deal of variety—with the stories. The effect is that of “theme and variations.”

38. “Johnny B. Goode” “Johnny B. Goode” is Chuck Berry’s masterpiece. It was recorded in February, 1958. He included a second guitar—which “toughens” the overall sound of the song. Like Berry’s other songs, “Johnny B. Goode” tells a complete story.

39. Into the Sixties: No Particular Place to Go Berry had a steady string of hits in the 1950’s—including many television and movie appearances. He was also in demand as a live performer. The “duckwalk” was born at a Paramount Theatre performance and became a symbol of Chuck Berry.

40. Into the Sixties: No Particular Place to Go (2) Berry was arrested in 1959 for violation the Mann Act: “the transportation of a minor across state lines for immoral purposes.” Berry had visited Juarez, Mexico, and met a young girl named Janice. He offered her a job in his new club in St. Louis. She accepted, but was only 14.

41. Into the Sixties: No Particular Place to Go (3) While Berry was on tour, she left the club and returned to her former career— prostitution. She was arrested and implicated Berry. He was arrested, and his first trial was thrown out for its obvious racism. After two years of trials and appeals, he was sentenced to prison for three years.

42. Into the Sixties: No Particular Place to Go (4) During the trials and appeals, his career began to disappear. Berry served two years of the sentence. However, when he was released, his songs were more popular then ever. The catch was that the audience wanted to hear the Beatles perform his songs!

43. Into the Sixties: No Particular Place to Go (5) Berry left Chess in 1966, but returned in 1970. He served 120 days of a three year sentence for tax evasion in 1979. Berry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. “Johnny B. Goode” was included on the Voyager I spacecraft.