Bruce Springsteen explains why Chuck Berry is “rock’s greatest practitioner”
Since he arrived with his debut album in 1973, Bruce Springsteen has proved himself as one of rock music’s most loyal servants. Throughout his journey, ‘The Boss’ has paid homage to many along the way, including the late pioneer Chuck Berry.
Springsteen was fortunate to have had several encounters with his hero. They first performed together in 1973, but Berry likely had no real clue who Bruce and The E-Street Band were as their first record had only been released. However, fate miraculously brought them on stage at College Park at the University of Maryland.
Bruce and his boys were booked as the opening act for the concert that Berry headlined with Bo Diddley sandwiched in between. The latter was riding high following the chart success of ‘My Ding-A-Ling’, and an opportunity to be on the same bill as Berry was a mouthwatering moment for Springsteen. Still, even in his wildest dreams, he didn’t foresee himself playing in the rock virtuoso’s backing band.
“About five minutes before the show was timed to start, the back door opens and he comes up and he’s got a guitar case and that was it,” Springsteen told RS in 1987, keenly remembering the moment. “He just pulled up in his own car and didn’t have anybody with him, or a band. We said, ‘What songs are we going to do?’ He goes, ‘We’re going to do some Chuck Berry songs.'”
Berry expected every artist to have grown up studying his records, and he was correct with his presumption about Springsteen and the E-Street Band. It was an unforgettable moment they were fortunate enough to re-live over two decades later at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a thrilling rendition of ‘Johnny B. Goode’.
When Berry died in 2017, aged 90, Springsteen was understandably devastated about losing one of his great inspirations and somebody he was lucky enough to classify as a peer. The New Jersey native took to Twitter to write a short tribute which said everything. “Chuck Berry was rock’s greatest practitioner, guitarist, and the greatest pure rock ‘n’ roll writer who ever lived,” he wrote. “This is a tremendous loss of a giant for the ages.”
Although Springsteen’s tribute was limited to 180 characters, he perfectly did justice to the legacy of one of rock’s founding fathers who inspired a generation. Unfortunately, no footage exists of their performance together in 1973 from Maryland, but you can watch them team up at Rock Hall below.
