87 is a good run for a rock-n-roller.
Mick is only 76.
The eldest Beatles would be 70 this year. Ringo and the late John. Keith Richards looks pretty spry for only being 334 years oldā¦
Check your math pleaseā¦John and Ringo were both born in 1940, so Ringo is turning eighty in a couple of months and Paul will be 78 sooner than that.
Derp, I did mean 80ā¦
Good catch.
Easy for me, since three of them were/are older than me and I was only weeks older than George.
Whereas I was 5 when they dissolved the partnership, and it was 7 years later I discovered them and got hooked.
Iād like to give equal billing to Chuck Berry.
There are several generations and branches in the family tree imho. But there are some superstars for sure.
I saw a documentary indicating that Chuck Berry was derivative, from some undiscovered kid called Marty McFly.
I seen a documentary about that two. I think Marty was a white boy too, thatās how them other fellers are tho, I tell you what.
Tbf it was late Friday night, Iād had a half glass of wine, and the BttF trilogy was on one of the deep cable channels
I sometimes wondering what it must have been like for some average young teen kid to hear Tutti Frutti on the radio for the first time, Iād think it had to have been at least mildly shocking
āAnd that Boys and Girls was the always pleasant Perry Como singing his latest hit song, after the weather and crop report at the top of the hour, I am going to play a brand new song for you by a young man named Little Richardā
Iāll tell you what was monumental to hear for the first time, and it wasnāt Elvis and it wasnāt Chuck Berry (although he was cute and funny) and it wasnāt even Jerry Lee Lewis although he WAS astounding.
It was stumbling across Elmore James clear the hell back in maybe 1952, in the wee hours on the AM band, coming out of Philly on a jazz show. It was the first time I ever cranked a radio all the way to eleven.
2 things striking here. First ā thatās Jimi Hendrix, playing guitar in Feb 1965 for the legend to his right - Little Richard. Secondly, this story from original Black Croweās drummer and co-founder Steve Gorman on meeting Little Richard and the impact it had on him:
I met Little Richard twice.
Once, for 30 seconds in an elevator - Hyatt/Riot House LA on Sunset in 1990.
Me and Robinson.
Immediately, he said āYāall must be in a band!ā
Chris said, āYes, sir! And weāre from Georgia! The Black Crowes.ā
Richard said āOh, yāall the ones that do the Otis song? I love that!ā
He hugged us both and wished us well.
The elevator stopped, he walked off.
We were speechless.
Flash forward ten years later - Kennedy Center Honors in 2000.
Don Was put us on the show honoring Chuck Berry.
Richard walks into the rehearsal room, the night before.
Says his hellos to everyone and then zooms in on Chris and me. He says āHello, Black Crowes - you probably wonāt even remember this but we met on an elevator years ago!ā
Again, weāre speechless.
I said āYeah, we rememberā¦I canāt believe you do!ā
He says āYāall did Otis so proud, he was my little brotherā¦I loved that man so much!ā
And he sits at the piano and busts into āThese Arms Of Mineāā¦it sounds EXACTLY like Otis. I mean, heās CHANNELING OTIS REDDING.
āThese arms of mine, they are lonely
Lonely and feeling blueā
It was mind blowing.
The whole room is still.
No one moves.
I glanced at Steve Jordan and we shared a āHoly Shit this Is actually happeningā look.
Richard ran thru the form twice, then stopped.
He said āYāall donāt want any more of that, do you?ā laughing.
Everyone in the room (G.E. Smith, Steve Jordan, me, CR, RR, Don Was, The B-52ās) yells āYES! More! Keep going!ā
He laughs againā¦'No, no, thatās enough, letās do what weāre here to do."
He killed us all. He knew it. And he left it there.
After that, we had a solid hour of hang/rehearsals before he got up to leave.
āI gotta go now! Yāall be ready tomorrow, 'cause Iām sure gonna SHOW UP!ā and walked out of the room.
I didnāt see him the next day except for onstage during the performance.
I originally went to DC excited and honored to shake a tambourine for Chuck Berry, but I left DC with my mind spinning over Little Richard and the fact that for an hour or so, I was standing next to a nuclear reactor.
My entire body was buzzing the whole time he was in that room with us. Head to toeā¦on fire.
I canāt even begin to imagine what it was like to see this man on a stage when he first showed up in the 1950āsā¦but I can tell you that in the year 2000 it was still a visceral experience that goes well beyond my feeble attempt to describe.
RIP Little Richard.
Many, many thanks.