The late great Chuck Berry and Keith Richards on one stage, what more needs to be said? Twenty million fans still aren’t over this historic rock ‘n’ roll moment. As a top commenter said: “You know you have rock ‘n’ roll status when Keith Richards is playing rhythm on your tracks.” It has to be said that the 60-year-old Chuck stole the show with that iconic duck walk – he’s looking as lively as when he first debuted the walk in 1956.
It’s easy to see why the Rolling Stone great took time out of his busy schedule to jam with Chuck on “Nadine (Is It You?).” There’s just something magical about watching Chuck work a crowd. That soulful vocal delivery, swinging guitar lines, and effortless command of the stage. The Father of Rock and Roll teamed up with Keef for the former’s documentary and concert Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, which dropped in 1987. At The Music Man, we never get tired of watching this historic collab!
Fan channel BestMasterGuitar uploaded Chuck and Keef’s collab to YouTube, to the delight of rock fans. Viewers found plenty to love in the collab, and added comments such as “It’s hard to believe that Chuck was 60 years old in this video, but you wouldn’t know it by how well he did his signature duck walk” and “That duck walk… He was the ultimate showman. Nobody could touch him. RIP.”
You can see Chuck’s influence on music with how many huge names sat in with his backing band. One of the Father of Rock and Roll’s greatest moments came when he performed “Johnny B. Goode” at the Concert for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Bruce Springsteen. Bruce plays a big role in the performance, adding rhythm, lead, and vocals. Needless to say, Chuck was the main event, as always. Watching his moves get a big cheesy grin from Bruce at the start is such a great moment.
Chuck Berry released “Nadine (Is It You?)” in February 1964. Chuck wrote the tune himself, and it was produced by Chess Records founders Leonard and Phil Chess. The Father of Rock and Roll put an international hit on the board with “Nadine (Is It You?)”. It hit number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 27 on the UK Singles Chart. Critics have noted that the song had an audible influence on Bob Dylan’s music on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. Bruce Springsteen has gone on record as to the brilliance of the song, praising Chuck’s evocative lyrics.