This week, another musical legend was taken and I’m pretty surprised (though I shouldn’t be) that none of the Kurrent Music bloggers have blogged about him yet. Chuck Berry was one of the founders of pop music like we know it today.
Musical evolution is like an ocean full of waves. One wave flows into the other and all of the waves together form the ocean. I realize that many Kurrent Music readers might not be of that age to know who Chuck Berry was (in fact, neither am I), but let’s just say that he was one of the waves that got the water moving in the first place.
The music today would not sound like it does, if it weren’t for people like Chuck Berry. He was part of a movement that brought us rock ‘n roll. Piano loops, lively lyrics and guitar riffs created a new foundation for pop today. For instance the piano loops from those days can still be found in, for instance, Rihanna’s “Love On The Brain”, but it also served as an example for bass loops in today’s house and dance music.
Because rock n roll, back then, also inspired teenagers to find new ways of dancing, I wouldn’t be surprised if that genre even had some major impact in today’s dance moves.
Nevertheless, I always thought of Chuck Berry as a star of the past, known for his big hits and the revival of them thanks to movies like Dirty Dancing and the hits by Jive Bunny, who made medleys of old rock n roll songs in the late 80s, which stormed the UK charts. But Chuck had always remained active in music throughout his life. Even to his dying day, although that existed mainly of a life on the road.
I have to wonder whether, the road was just the only musician’s life he knew, that he may never have realized he could semi-retire at some point and record music for his fans instead of literally bringing the music to them live. I can’t imagine what touring could do to someone as old as he was lucky enough to become. He died last week at the age of 90.
