News Archive

Fire at Chuck Berry's property is called arson
Monday, 29. September 2003 - 11:51

Fire at Chuck Berry's property is called arson

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

September 26 / 2003

By the press stab

A fire that destroyed a building on legendary musician Chuck Berry's property was 
intentionally set, Wentzville fire officials said Friday.

The investigation is continuing, said Austin Worcester, assistant chief for the Wentzville 
Fire Protection District.

"Now it's a matter of trying to determine who and why," he said.

No one was injured in the blaze, which began about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20. The building, 
a one-story wooden structure, was once a guest house but more recently had been used 
for storage.

Berry was in New York at the time of the blaze, Worcester said. The building is on Buckner Road, 
near Wentzville.

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

CHUCK BERRY'S infamous "The Old Chuck Berry Lodge" on fire!
Sunday, 21. September 2003 - 11:39

As reported on Channel 4, St. Louis Mo.: "The Old Chuck Berry Lodge" is on 
fire, on his St. Charles County, Estate, just outside St. Louis, MO. It's a two alarm 
fire, but back-up from three other Fire Depts. are on the scene. 
Investigators are reporting that it is suspicious and that they are investigating it 
as such. The intense fire started at about 6:30 CDT Sept. 20, 2003, the fire started in 
the rear of the old lodge and spread quickly. Chuck was informed of the fire.

The building was known as the OLD CHUCK BERRY LODGE, but most recently it was being 
used for storage. Chuck Berry performed and entertained his guests at the lodge 
many years ago.

It was also reported that Chuck Berry is not at the residence on the same Estate, but 
is out performing, just this week he was performing at the famous BLUBERRY HILL, 
(on wednesday night as he usually does, once a month at the club) located on Delmar, 
in St. Louis.

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis in Detroit, MI cancelled
Saturday, 20. September 2003 - 09:05

A concert featuring Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis which was scheduled
to take place at Fox Theatre Detroit on September 27th 2003 has been cancelled.
No reason was given.

Refunds are available at the point of purchase.

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry in St. Louis, MO
Wednesday, 17. September 2003 - 10:50

CHUCK BERRY
15.10.03 - ST. LOUIS, MO - BLUEBERRY HILL

TICKETS

Prices:
General Admission: 25,00 $

Category details:
General Admission: Unreserved Seating

Tickets available through
www.metrotix.com

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

"The Man In Black" Johnny Cash is dead
Saturday, 13. September 2003 - 17:08

NEW YORK - Johnny Cash, a towering figure in American music spanning country, 
rock and folk and known worldwide as "The Man in Black," has died, according 
to hospital officials in Nashville, Tenn. He was 71.

"Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory 
failure," said Cash's manager, Lou Robin, in a press release issued by Baptist 
Hospital in Nashville.

The release said Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT. He was released from 
Baptist on Wednesday where he had spent two weeks being treated for an unspecified stomach ailment.

"I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during 
this very difficult time," Robin said.

Cash had battled a disease of the nervous system, autonomic neuropathy, and 
pneumonia in recent years and was once diagnosed with a disease called Shy-Drager's syndrome, 
a diagnosis that was later deemed to be erroneous.

Dozens of hit records like "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," and 
"Sunday Morning Coming Down" defined Cash's persona: a haunted, dignified, resilient 
spokesman for the working man and downtrodden.

Cash's deeply lined face fit well with his unsteady voice, which was limited in 
range but used to great effect to sing about prisoners, heartaches, and tales of 
everyday life. He wrote much of his own material, and was among the first to record 
the songs of Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson.

"One Piece at a Time" was about an assembly line worker who built a car out of parts 
stolen from his factory. "A Boy Named Sue" was a comical story of a father who gives 
his son a girl's name to make him tough. "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" told of the drunken death of 
an American Indian soldier who helped raised the American flag at Iwo Jima during World War II, 
but returned to harsh racism in America.

Cash said in his 1997 autobiography "Cash" that he tried to speak for "voices that 
were ignored or even suppressed in the entertainment media, not to mention the political and 
educational establishments."

Cash's career spanned generations, with each finding something of value in his simple records, 
many of which used his trademark "boom-chicka-boom" rhythm.

Cash was a peer of Elvis Presley when rock 'n' roll was born in Memphis in the 1950s, and he scored 
hits like "Cry! Cry! Cry!" during that era. He had a longtime friendship and recorded with Dylan, 
who has cited Cash as a major influence.

He won 11 Grammys — most recently in 2003, when "Give My Love To Rose" earned him honors as 
best male country vocal performance — and numerous Country Music Association awards. He was 
elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

His second wife, June Carter Cash, and daughter Roseanne Cash also were successful singers. 
June Carter Cash, who co-wrote Cash's hit "Ring of Fire" and partnered with her husband in hits 
such as "Jackson," died in May 2003.

The late 1960s and '70s were Cash's peak commercial years, and he was host of his own ABC variety 
show from 1969-71. In later years, he was part of the Highwayman supergroup with Waylon Jennings, 
Willie Nelson and Kristofferson.

In the 1990s, he found a new artistic life recording with rap and hard rock producer 
Rick Rubin on the label American Recordings. And he was back on the charts in with the 2002 
album "American IV: the Man Comes Around."

He also wrote books including two autobiographies, and acted in 
films and television shows.

In his 1971 hit "Man in Black," Cash said his black clothing symbolized the downtrodden 
people in the world. Cash had been "The Man in Black" since he joined the Grand Ole Opry at age 25.

"Everybody was wearing rhinestones, all those sparkle clothes and cowboy boots," he said 
in 1986. "I decided to wear a black shirt and pants and see if I could get by with it. I did and 
I've worn black clothes ever since."

John R. Cash was born Feb. 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Ark., one of seven children. When he was 12, his 
14-year-old brother and hero, Jack, died after an accident while sawing oak trees into fence posts. 
The tragedy had a lasting impact on Cash, and he later pointed to it as a possible reason his 
music was frequently melancholy.

He worked as a custodian and enlisted in the Air Force, learning guitar while stationed in Germany, 
before launching his music career after his 1954 discharge.

"All through the Air Force, I was so lonely for those three years," Cash told The Associated 
Press during a 1996 interview. "If I couldn't have sung all those old country songs, I 
don't think I could have made it."

Cash launched his career in Memphis, performing on radio station KWEM. He auditioned with 
Sun Records, ultimately recording the single "Hey Porter," which became a hit.

Sun Records also launched the careers of Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and others.

"Folsom Prison Blues," went to No. 4 on the country charts in 1956, and featured Cash's 
most famous couplet: "I shot a man in Reno/ just to watch him die."

Cash recorded theme albums celebrating the railroads and the Old West, and decrying the 
mistreatment of American Indians. Two of his most popular albums were recorded live at prisons. 
Along the way he notched 14 No. 1 country music hits.

Because of Cash's frequent performances in prisons and his rowdy lifestyle early in his career, 
many people wrongly thought he had served prison time. He never did, though he battled 
addictions to pills on and off throughout his life.

He blamed fame for his vulnerability to drug addiction.

"When I was a kid, I always knew I'd sing on the radio someday. I never thought about fame until 
it started happening to me," he said in 1988. "Then it was hard to handle. That's why I turned to pills."

He credited June Carter Cash, whom he married in 1968, with helping him stay off drugs, though 
he had several relapses over the years and was treated at the Betty Ford Center in California in 1984.

June Carter Cash was the daughter of country music great Mother Maybelle Carter, and the mother 
of singer Carlene Carter. Together, the couple had one child, John Carter Cash. He is a musician and producer.

Singer Rosanne Cash is Johnny Cash's daughter from his first marriage, to Vivian Liberto. 
Their other three children were Kathleen, Cindy and Tara. They divorced in 1966.

In March 1998, Cash made headlines when his California-based record company, American Recordings, 
took out an advertisement in the music trade magazine Billboard. The full-page ad celebrated 
Cash's 1998 Grammy award for best country album for "Unchained." The ad showed an enraged-looking 
Cash in his younger years making an obscene gesture to sarcastically illustrate his thanks to 
country radio stations and "the country music establishment in Nashville," which he felt had 
unfairly cast him aside.

Jennings, a close friend, once said of Cash: "He's been like a brother to me. He's one of the 
greatest people in the world."

Cash once credited his mother, Carrie Rivers Cash, with encouraging him to pursue a 
singing career.

"My mother told me to keep on singing, and that kept me working through the cotton fields. 
She said God has his hand on you. You'll be singing for the world someday."

Cash lived in Hendersonville, Tenn., just outside of Nashville. He also had a 
home in Jamaica.

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Rock Pioneers to Take Stage in Hawaii
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

Rock Pioneers to Take Stage in Hawaii

HONOLULU - A concert featuring rock 'n' roll legends Chuck Berry, 
Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard is coming to Hawaii next month.

The trio of American music pioneers will perform at the Blaisdell Arena 
on Oct. 25. Ticket information will be announced this week, according 
to a report in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

The performance will be the first in the islands for Little Richard, 
the flamboyant entertainer best known for his hits "Good Golly, Miss Molly," 
"Tutti-Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally."

Lewis first dazzled the crowd in Hawaii in 1958 with Paul Anka and 
Buddy Holly. His hits include "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole 
Lotta Shakin' Going On."

Berry, the flashy showman behind "Johnny B. Goode," first performed 
here in 1957.

All three men are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Greatest Guitarists Of All Time (as voted by Rolling Stone magazine)
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

  1 Jimi Hendrix
  2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
  3 B.B. King
  4 Eric Clapton
  5 Robert Johnson
  6 Chuck Berry
  7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
  8 Ry Cooder
  9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
 10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
 11 Kirk Hammett of Metallica
 12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
 13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
 14 Jeff Beck
 15 Carlos Santana
 16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
 17 Jack White of the White Stripes
 18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
 19 Richard Thompson
 20 James Burton
 21 George Harrison
 22 Mike Bloomfield
 23 Warren Haynes
 24 The Edge of U2
 25 Freddy King
 26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
 27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
 28 Stephen Stills
 29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
 30 Buddy Guy
 31 Dick Dale
 32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
 33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
 35 John Fahey
 36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
 37 Bo Diddley
 38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
 39 Brian May of Queen
 40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
 41 Clarence White of the Byrds
 42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
 43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
 44 Scotty Moore
 45 Frank Zappa
 46 Les Paul
 47 T-Bone Walker
 48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
 49 John McLaughlin
 50 Pete Townshend
 51 Paul Kossoff of Free
 52 Lou Reed
 53 Mickey Baker
 54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
 55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
 56 Tom Verlaine of Television
 57 Roy Buchanan
 58 Dickey Betts
 59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
 61 Ike Turner
 62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
 63 Danny Gatton
 64 Mick Ronson
 65 Hubert Sumlin
 66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
 67 Link Wray
 68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
 69 Steve Howe of Yes
 70 Eddie Van Halen
 71 Lightnin' Hopkins
 72 Joni Mitchell
 73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
 74 Johnny Winter
 75 Adam Jones of Tool
 76 Ali Farka Toure
 77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
 78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
 79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
 80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
 81 Derek Trucks
 82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
 83 Neil Young
 84 Eddie Cochran
 85 Randy Rhoads
 86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
 87 Joan Jett
 88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
 89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
 90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
 91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
 92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
 94 Bert Jansch
 95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
 96 Angus Young of AC/DC
 97 Robert Randolph
 98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
 99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard in Honolulu, HI
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

CHUCK BERRY, JERRY LEE LEWIS, LITTLE RICHARD
25.10.03 - HONOLULU, HI - BLAISDELL ARENA

TICKETS

Prices:
1st category: 55,00 $
2nd category: 45,00 $

Category details:
1st to 2nd: Reserved Seating

Tickets available through
www.ticketmaster.com

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry in Purchase, NY
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

CHUCK BERRY
17.10.03 - PURCHASE, NY - SUNY / PURCHASE ARTS CTR.

TICKETS

Prices:
1st category: 50,00 $
2nd category: 40,00 $
3rd category: 30,00 $

Category details:
1st to 3rd: Reserved Seating

Tickets available through
www.artscenter.org

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis in Detroit, MI
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

CHUCK BERRY, JERRY LEE LEWIS
27.09.03 - DETROIT, MI - FOX THEATRE

TICKETS

Prices:
1st category: 75,00 $
2nd category: 49,50 $
3rd category: 37,50 $

Category details:
1st to 3rd: Reserved Seating

Tickets available through
www.ticketmaster.com

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry in St. Louis, MO
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

CHUCK BERRY
17.09.03 - ST. LOUIS, MO - BLUEBERRY HILL

TICKETS

Prices:
General Admission: 25,00 $

Category details:
General Admission: Unreserved Seating

Tickets available through
www.metrotix.com

Source: Wolfgang Guhl

Chuck Berry, Little Richard in Trenton, NJ
Sunday, 07. September 2003 - 10:11

CHUCK BERRY, LITTLE RICHARD
13.09.03 - TRENTON, NJ - SOVEREIGN BANK ARENA

TICKETS

Prices:
1st category: 75,00 $
2nd category: 55,00 $
3rd category: 45,00 $
4th category: 35,00 $

Category details:
1st to 4th: Reserved Seating

Tickets available through
www.ticketmaster.com

Source: Wolfgang Guhl