Vintage performances by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, and others will be featured in the latest Chuck Berry documentary. The new film, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, will premiere on February 29th across PBS stations nationwide.
Among the classic clips shows in the special are the Beatles on February 11th, 1964 paying homage to the “Father of Rock N' Roll” by opening their first U.S. concert in Washington, D.C. with “Roll Over Beethoven” and the Stones caught live on September 21st, 1964 performing “Around And Around” live in Kingston-upon-Hull, England. Among the more recent clips is Jeff Lynne's ELO performing “Roll Over Beethoven” during their 2017 Rock Hall induction.
Rolling Stone reported, “Other performances include Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of 'Johnny B. Goode' in Berkeley in 1970; Paul McCartney‘s intimate 1999 rendition of 'Brown Eyed Handsome Man' at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles got their start; and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers‘ take on 'Carol' from 2011.”
Keith Richards — perhaps Chuck Berry's most ardent admirer — continues to inject Berry's style and energy into the his and the Rolling Stones' work even through today: “Chuck Berry — I always felt that I owed the man, y'know, an incredible debt for his music and for the fact of turning me on (laughs). And at the same time, I just thought Chuck was the epitome of what archetypal rock n' roll should be. Great songs. Incredible beat. Lyrics — they always got a little joke, or two, in them. Nothing's too serious. And also, that magical, sort of roll. I guess I gotta say that beautiful bounce and fly on the beat that was very jazz-like. It seemed to be a continuity between. . . I mean other people sort of thinking rock n' roll was new, I knew it was (as) old as the hills.”
Chuck Berry died of natural causes on March 18th, 2017 at age 90. On June 9th, 2017, his final album, titled, Chuck, was released and peaked at Number Nine on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart.
