Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

If you were young when rock-and-roll was young, then you will probably enjoy this; if you were not young at that time, then this would give you a bit of history. Even though I was not around for the era of the big bands, seeing movies like "The Glenn Miller Story" or listening to some Artie Shaw or Tommy Dorsey gave me an appreciation for the music of a previous generation, and an understanding that those of that generation are not hopelessly antiquated.

The bulk of the movie is footage of a concert in St. Louis at the Fox Theater in celebration of Berry's 60th birthday in 1986. Berry plays a lot of his classics - he was still an amazingly agile and robust performer at the time. Kieth Richards plays a big part in this movie. Apparently Richards was bothered by the fact that Berry always picked up lackluster backup bands wherever he played and he put together a good backup band for this concert, himself included of course. There are guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, and Julian Lennon. There are interviews with Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Little Richard (a delight), John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and much talk from Keith Richards. The fact that Richards is still alive at this late date is a testament to the resilience of the human body.

To hear Bruce Springsteen say he first heard Chuck Berry via the music of the Stones makes me feel ancient. I was thirteen when I first heard Chuck Berry on a car radio in 1955 jamming out "Maybelline," the first true rock song I had ever heard. This was before the King, Elvis, signed with RCA and popularized the rock 'n' roll sound for us all.

In celebration of his sixtieth birthday, Chuck, with the help of friends, rocks out with many of his creations. The Berry rifts are still fast and furious but there is now an air of cynicism that was absent at the creation. Those unfamiliar with the early Berry sound should check out the original recordings to hear Chuck wail out his affirmation of youth and beauty. "Sweet Little Sixteen" was written and performed by Chuck Berry when he was thirty two years old; yet the rocker captures the innocence and lust of being young and carefree. Chuck continued through his music to invent many of the terms and lingo of the youth culture taking shape at the time. The only other recording artist of the day to even come close to Chuck Berry's lyrics of teen angst and a vocabulary to accompany it was Carl Perkins.

Chuck Berry was a seminal artist in the early history of rock 'n' roll. His approach was revolutionary, not just rebellious. Listen to the words of "Roll Over Beethoven." Chuck is stating emphatically that the new movement in American music is not merely a fad as critics would have it but a complete overhaul in musical standards: "...and tell Tschaikowsky the news."

One of the highlights of "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" is seeing and hearing the three pioneers of early rock exchanging barbs and ideas with each other. Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry discuss the white cover versions of black songs so prevalent in the record industry of the 1950's. Bo Diddley tries to keep an open mind about it all, for example, saying that Dick Clark couldn't showcase a mixed dance crowd on his "American Bandstand" because the producers wouldn't permit it. Little Richard interjects humor into the proceedings when he talks about white-shoes Pat Boone crooning "Tutti Frutti," making the salacious lyrics, "Awopbopaloobopalopbamboom," sound like light opera. Little Richard comments with a smile that he got over Pat Boone bowdlerizing "Tutti Frutti" only to have him expropriate "Long Tall Sally" ducking back in the alley. Chuck Berry, on the other hand, is militant and angry about the theft of property by the white record producers from black artists.

Chuck Berry has good reason to be so adamant in his denunciation of the racial overtones that existed in the record business of the 50's, for he suffered not just monetary loss as a result; his private life suffered too. Chuck wouldn't talk about his run-ins with the law for director Taylor Hackford, saying that he would discuss it in its proper context but not across an office desk. Chuck made a fantastic comeback in 1964 following a prison term resulting from a setup engineered by the government. Since Chuck refuses to comment on it, we may never know for sure exactly what happened.

One of Chuck's songs that stands out today is "Too Much Monkey Business." When Chuck recorded this in 1956, it represented, to my knowledge, the first rock 'n' roll protest song, several years before Bob Dylan would turn the rock world around with his protest-oriented music. Only one other protest rock song of any significance came out during the early days of rock 'n' roll. That was the Coasters' "What About Us?" not nearly as good as "Too Much Monkey Business."

There are better rock concert films around, the quintessence being "The Last Waltz," but this is the only place where rock fans can get a glimpse of the legendary Chuck Berry in all his glory accompanied by some of the best musicians in the business. It's easy to understand why NASA put "Johnny B. Goode" on the Voyager Golden Record as the best example of American Rock 'n' Roll.

This is a concert/documentary film celebrating the 60th birthday of rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. The film is a mix of biographical history on Berry, testimonials from his contemporaries, rehearsals leading up to the big show, and finally the concert celebration featuring Berry, a back-up band headed by Keith Richards, and guest vocals from a variety of artists, such as Eric Clapton, Etta James, Linda Ronstadt, Robert Cray, and Julian Lennon.

The testimonials include Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Willie Dixon, the Everly Brothers, and Bruce Springsteen. The film is informative on the history of Berry and rock and roll music in general, and is also at times uncomfortable as we see just how moody Berry can be, especially to Keith Richards, who seems almost at the end of his rope (but doesn't he always?). The concert is good, even if Berry occasionally confounds his bandmates with unexpected key changes and sometimes sloppy musicianship (much to Richards' chagrin). Old school rock fans will love it, and even those who generally don't care for this kind of music will find some interest in the history and the larger-than-life character of Chuck Berry.

Incredible to only seeing it now! VHS from the library. Can watch the "confrontation" scene between Chuck and Keith over and over! It's like minutes 33-37 with Chuck serious mind-fudging' with Keith over this cool riff in "Carol" Just over and over and over. That guitar should have gone directly over Chuck Berry's head with a bigger bang! Though maybe there is a subtle different from the first try to the final approval. Beats me, but teaching Keith? Never thought I'd see that!

What a fun movie and SO well done! Chuck Berry is just a genius, but a total lunatic and not what you'd call a people person! Just wildly good history. Glad it will be there as documentation.

I saw this a few years after it came out. The concert footage was filmed in Berry's hometown of St. Louis at the Fox theater on October 18, 1986 on his 60th birthday. It was also the same year the Berry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in it's inaugural class. Assembeled for the concert are musicians Chuck Levelle, Bobby Keyes, Joey Spampinato and Steve Jordon along with Berry's longtime collaborator and pianist Johnnie Johnson under the musical direction of Keith Richards. Guest performers are Eric Clapton, Etta James, Linda Ronsdat, Robert Cray, Julian Lennon and the guest of honor himself Chuck Berry. Interviews on his career are provided by his rock and roll contemporaries Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Roy Orbison, Bo Diddley and The Everly Brothers. Additional interviews on his inspiration come from Bruce Springsteen and an older clip from John Lennon. Taylor Hackford directed. Hackford won an Academy Award in the short film category with the first project he ever did. In 1980 he began directing feature films and has since only directed 10 films but they include Against all Odds, An Officer and a Gentleman, Delores Claiborn and Ray. As a producer he also did the documentary When We Were Kings. The cinematographer is Oliver Stapleton who had only photographed some Indy films before Haill Haill Rock & Roll but would go on to do such films as Earth Girls Are Easy, The Grifters, The Cider House Rules, Buffalo Soldiers and Pay it Forward. We see Chuck Berry being his controlling, difficult ornery self here and this likely would have been an amazing film if director Hackford was allowed free reign with his camera and Chuck would have allowed a more introspective view into what is Chuck Berry but Berry calls the shots and rocks and music director Richards reels. This is a good documentary and Chuck Berry and 50's rock & Roll fans should check it out. It's amazing to think that this is 20 years gone already and Chuck Berry will be turning 80 this fall. I would give it an 8.0 out of 10.