Hail Hail Rock and Roll

Chuck Berry is appearing at the State Theater here in Easton in November. What does this mean to roots rock fans like me? Might art historians get excited if Leonardo showed up at the Louvre to explain what that Mona Lisa smile was really all about. Would the Supreme Court let James Madison in the door to explain what he really meant by the 2nd amendment? Would Bill and Ted like to get Socrates, Joan of Arc and the rest to spice up their presentation in history class?

Chuck Berry came into my life in the late 50s. One night, I was fiddling with my prized transistor radio hoping that I could catch the Indians baseball game on WWWE out of Cleveland. It had to be better than Perez Prado's "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" or Pat Boone's "Endless Sleep" on the local stations. Elvis had ushered in the Rock and Roll Era a few years before but local radio stuck to the standards.

I heard a guitar riff like I'd never heard before and lyrics that cut to the depths of my pre-teen soul:

"Up in the morning and off to school
The teacher is teaching the Golden Rule
American History and Practical Math
Studyin' hard. Hopin' you'll pass
Workin' your fingers right down to the bone
Guy behind you won't leave you alone"

I could identify with this. It got even better.

"Soon as three o'clock rolls around
It's time to lay your burden down
Close up your books. Get out of your seat
Down the halls and into the street
Up to the corner and round the bend
Right to the juke joint you go in"

"Drop the coin right into the slot
Got to hear something that's really hot
With the one you love you're making romance
All day long you've been wanting to dance
Feeling the music from head to toe
Round and round and round you go"

"Hail, Hail Rock and Roll
Deliver me from the days of old
Long live rock and roll
The beat of the drums loud and bold
Rock Rock Rock and Roll
The feeling is there body and soul"

Now there was an anthem for a middle school kid. There was music I could believe in as opposed to Patti Page (The Singing Rage) with "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" or Dean Martin with "That's Amore".

By the time I got to high school, there were actually radio stations that played rock and roll all the time. Granted, it was usually covers of black performers by white groups, but every now and then I'd catch Chuck doing "Maybelline" or "Johnny B. Goode". It made growing up in a world where Perry Como had hit records more bearable.

Thanks, Chuck. I'll be there to see you.