What was the last song Chuck Berry ever played live?
For any rocker, the concept of the last song they ever play must be a terrifying thought. But in the case of Chuck Berry, he inadvertently made possibly the greatest choice.
For a man who pioneered the genre of rock and roll as we all know and love it today, and indeed became dubbed as its father, the ultimate ending of his life and career had the potential to be beset with tragedy. I’m sure plenty of examples of stars well past their prime will spring to mind, but it’s not the place to name them here. The point is that Berry could have possibly followed that same saddening suit – but it was his own decision to take control of that narrative and change his destiny.
Of course, you have to take this with the caveat that by the mid-2010s, Berry was in his late 80s – an elderly and frail man in ill health, so it would be highly ambitious, let alone delusional, to expect him to tear up the stage in exactly in the same way as he did some six decades prior. You have to allow for a bit of metaphorical cushioning to that dream. But nevertheless, when Berry took to the stage on October 15th, 2014, at Blueberry Hill in his hometown of St Louis, Missouri, it was unknowingly his final performance – but he was still sure to put on a show.
Performing a pretty hefty setlist of 14 songs, especially impressive given that he was mere days away from his 88th birthday at the time, Berry knew never to let the crowd down by belting out all the hits. Between ‘Johnny B Goode’, ‘Back in the USA’, and a range of classic covers, it was not a show to be missed. But when it came to the final bow, and what would end up becoming his last swan song, only one tune could do the job: ‘Reelin’ and Rockin’’.
How did the final song define the legacy of Chuck Berry?
In many ways, it was fitting that Berry chose to use his 1957 hit as not only the end of his set, but the curtain call of his entire career. After decade upon decade of truly tearing up the rule book and most definitely writing the blueprint of what it means to be the peak embodiment of rock and roll, it was only right that Berry would continue riding that electrifying wave until the very last of his twilight hours.
Although this certainly wasn’t meant to be construed as its intent, there’s a hint of poignant in knowing that these were the final lyrics Berry was to ever utter: “Well, I looked at my watch, and it was time to go/ The band leader said, ‘We ain’t playin’ no mo’’/ We were reelin’, reelin’ and rockin’/ We was reelin’ and rockin’ way ’til the break of dawn.” In that moment, it was indeed time for him to go, but he’d done it in a way that everyone knew just oozed with style.
He may have been just shy of 88 years old, losing his hearing, and with a brain not as sharp as it used to be, but Berry demonstrated that he could still be as alive as ever if you put him on a stage with a microphone in front of his mouth. They say true rockers never lose their spirit, which is certainly true, but when he went to his deathbed two and a half years later, he definitely knew it had been a job well done.
