Berry, be good: Five classic rock legends who were disappointed to meet Chuck Berry
Find your favourite rock star, look up their influences, and Chuck Berry will be one of them.
The subjective nature of music is what entices us so much to it, but even in this opinion-based art form, there remain a few constants, and in the world of rock, that comes in the form of Berry. The flamboyant, eccentric, guitar-wielding showman captured the hearts of music fans all over the world with his great vocal ability and unique playing style.
You can trace the history of rock ‘n’ roll all the way back to Berry, which means that even modern artists, whether they realise it or not, are somewhat indebted to him. Nevertheless, the man was a dick. A great number of rock stars found themselves ecstatic at the idea of meeting the artist who helped pave the way for the genre they were now an intrinsic part of, but in doing so, realised he was pretty damn rude, and so left that meeting disappointed.
Don’t take my word for it. These are five big names within the world of rock who were sad to have met Chuck Berry.
Five artists who didn’t like meeting Chuck Berry:
Ian Anderson
One thing that Ian Anderson has always looked for in the music he listens to is authenticity, as he wanted someone’s art to come from a genuine place. It didn’t matter what genre they were dabbling in or what kind of sound they were going for, so long as it came from a place of sincerity and honesty, the Jethro Tull frontman was willing to listen.
The same goes for personalities. Ian Anderson was always happy to meet people and get along with them, and in his experience of doing this, he said he came across very few who were genuinely rude or inherently nasty. There were two exceptions to this rule within the world of music, though, both of whom might not come as a huge surprise to you.
“I’ve yet to meet anybody who wasn’t actually a nice person and had a warmth and a humour about them,” he said, “Apart from Chuck Berry, Van Morrison.”
Keith Richards
The whole reason that the Rolling Stones even got together in the first place was because of their love for artists like Chuck Berry. Keith Richards admitted that when he set out to become a guitar player, he did so with the goal of being as good as Chuck Berry. So long as he could achieve that, he confirmed he would be the “happiest man in the world”.
One day, when he eventually met Chuck Berry, his hero gave him a black eye for touching his six-string. “Which I later called his greatest hit,” said Richards, “We saw him play in New York somewhere, and afterwards, I was backstage in his dressing room, where his guitar was lying in its case. I wanted to look, out of professional interest, and as I’m just plucking the strings, Chuck walked in and gave me this wallop to the frickin’ left eye. But I realised I was in the wrong.”
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger wasn’t as big a fan of Chuck Berry as Richards was, so he was happy to call things as he saw them: the man was rude. Jagger joins a long line of musicians who had nothing against Berry’s music but, upon meeting him, realised that sometimes, it was best to just let someone’s art do the talking.
“I met him loads of times and always got on well,” he said, “But I think Keith [Richards] always thought of him as more of a hero than I did and therefore was more disappointed with him when he was rather rude and overbearing.”
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson is celebrated for being one of the most unique vocalists in rock. There was only ever one artist who could fill the role of AC/DC frontman after Bon Scott did such a good job, and that was this riff-loving tour de force, Geordie. One night, a group of AC/DC fans gathered outside a gig to get his autograph, when one fan asked Johnson if he’d ever done the same and had one of his heroes sign something.
Johnson’s response wasn’t the most positive, as he opened up to the fans about how he had previously asked Chuck Berry for a signature and found out the hard way that it’s not always a great idea to meet your heroes.
“I asked Chuck Berry once in 1975,” said the AC/DC vocalist, “He was the biggest piece of shit I ever met in my life. The rudest man I ever met.”
Taylor Hackford
While not a musician, Taylor Hackford worked closer with Chuck Berry than any of the names listed above. The director was asked to work with Berry to put together a documentary about his 60th birthday concert. Working on Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, Hackford realised that Berry was an incredibly difficult man in every sense of the word.
“As a director, you’re used to controlling things, and with Chuck Berry, you never control. It was like riding a bucking bronco. He pulled the rug out from under all of us. Was he an easy man? Absolutely not,” he said, “Nobody is ever going to know what really goes on inside that head. No one’s ever going to do the entire picture of Chuck Berry because it’s just too deep and dark.”
