How about mixing the country music with the blues?
And then – and this is the most important thing – take the blues to the top? The result would be “Maybellene”, the founding anthem of rock & roll. Berry based it on a haystack tune he loved – the Bob Wills classic “Ida Red”. But he invented something new: the Chuck Berry riff, a revolutionary sound.
He changed Ida’s name to Maybellene and churned out his poetry about fast cars and girls: “As I was motorvating over the hill/I saw Maybellene in a Coupe De Ville.” All American music is in that guitar somewhere.
“Maybellene” is one of ROLLING STONE’s top 100 debut singles of all time.
TV Tip: Chuck Berry
Arte is showing a tribute to Chuck Berry on Friday (June 3rd). Also included is the documentary “Chuck Berry” (9:55 p.m.) and “Chuck Berry: Brown-Eyed Handsome Man” (11:35 p.m.) with covers by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Petty and much more. Both specials can also be seen in the Arte media library.
