Though it’s some of the most popular music in the world today, rock music has evolved over the years.
Although it has changed considerably over time, there are still plenty of people who prefer the glorious rock music of the ’60s and ’70s and artists like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and The Beach Boys. Although all of these bands had a huge impact on the history of the genre, there are plenty of other artists who laid the foundation of rock and roll before these bands.
When it comes to rock music in its earliest form, there’s nobody more influential than Chuck Berry.
Chuck Berry, an American singer-songwriter, was said to be one of the pioneers of rock and roll.
He has been dubbed the Father of Rock and Roll as he set the standards and introduced various elements into his music which came to define rock music. He was also among the first musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He influenced many talented musicians that became legends—and one of those musicians is John Lennon of The Beatles.
This 1972 live performance between Lennon and Berry will show you the true definition of rock music.
In February 1972, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono co-hosted the famous daytime television variety show called The Michael Douglas Show. One of the guests that Lennon invited was the infamous Chuck Berry. Both of them decided to perform two of Berry’s compositions, “Memphis, Tennessee” and “Johnny B. Goode.”
On the set, Berry and Lennon shared the same microphone and Yoko Ono played her bongos in front of another mic.
Behind them was the rest of the band backing them up. They played “Memphis, Tennessee” with Berry singing as the lead while Lennon harmonized with him. Berry even did his signature duck walk during their epic instrumental break!
After a short break, the band carries on to their next performance.
Swings and sways continued as they transitioned to “Johnny B. Goode” after the show’s commercial break.
Yoko continued to beat the bongos while jamming to the song. Berry’s raspy Rock & Roll vocals took the wildness out of the surface.
You can see the audience enjoying the show as they also rocked with them via a clapping rhythm.
Berry was pleased to see the crowd’s excitement and so he gifted them another duck walk. The performance was no doubt amazing, but everyone seemed to point out Yoko’s presence.
Viewers were not pleased with Yoko’s off-beat drumming and weird noises throughout the whole show.
They were enraged that she had to insert a sharp dolphin sound that was not pleasing to the ears. Even Berry was surprised to see her scream… and you can see his visible confusion during the show!
Somewhere in the middle of the performance, they cut off Yoko’s microphone without her knowledge.
She noticed it eventually and so they had to put it back on. Despite the hate, some thought that it added some uniqueness to their performance. Looking back now, all of these performers are legends and true rock stars.
Their chemistry was just astounding, you can see how much everyone on the set enjoyed playing with each other.
It’s also easy to appreciate how beautiful the rawness and overall quality of their performance is. It’s easy to wish that you were actually there to witness this in person!
To see the entire performance, be sure to click the link below:
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