Chuck Berry, "Jaguar And Thunderbird: c/w "Our Little Rendezvous," Chess 1767 (rel. 10/1960)
It's a motorvatin' Monday with a seldom-heard 1960 single by Chuck Berry, one of rock 'n' roll's key architects. The A-side sounds like an early Rolling Stones song. The group did it in their live shows, but never made an official recording. It's evidence of how much Berry's country-rock fusion influenced the band that it has that Jagger-Richards vibe. Though I dislike the group due to the bad actions of its two leaders, I cannot deny that they got a country feeling in their early sides--something that distinguished them from the other British groups. They pulled this style off better than any contenders, Beatles included.
This 1960 platter is a proto-rap that owes something to country and rockabilly songs of its style. The Cash Box review atones for its misspelling of the song title with its note that Berry adopts the style of Charlie Ryan's "Hot Rod Lincoln." The syncopated, deadpan patter of both songs is similar.
Berry was a fine actor and his performance in "Jaguar and Thunderbird" is gritty, showy and appealing. He might have pursued a side hustle as an auctioneer, given his facility for fast-paced patter. This side was recorded in March 1960 but not issued until October. I'd love to know who sings harmony of this side. It might be Berry's rhythm guitarist Matt Murphy. Berry's pianist Lafayette Leake is always a delight to hear, and Odie Payne's atmospheric drums are always welcome.
This was designed for the Black market; its semi-spoken schtick wasn't Hot 100 fodder. It got stuck at #109 and has become a deep cut in Berry's large catalog.
This 1960 platter is a proto-rap that owes something to country and rockabilly songs of its style. The Cash Box review atones for its misspelling of the song title with its note that Berry adopts the style of Charlie Ryan's "Hot Rod Lincoln." The syncopated, deadpan patter of both songs is similar.
Berry was a fine actor and his performance in "Jaguar and Thunderbird" is gritty, showy and appealing. He might have pursued a side hustle as an auctioneer, given his facility for fast-paced patter. This side was recorded in March 1960 but not issued until October. I'd love to know who sings harmony of this side. It might be Berry's rhythm guitarist Matt Murphy. Berry's pianist Lafayette Leake is always a delight to hear, and Odie Payne's atmospheric drums are always welcome.
This was designed for the Black market; its semi-spoken schtick wasn't Hot 100 fodder. It got stuck at #109 and has become a deep cut in Berry's large catalog.
Cash Box QC was off the week this reveiw appaerde.
"Our Little Rendezvous" would appear to be a ballad. Instead, it's the outstanding side of this single. It owes a lyrical debt to "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" in its structure. The rest is from Berry's droll imagination. This country rocker has Berry building a spaceship for his little Suzie "with a heavy payload" for a cosmic get-together.
One doesn't expect a song with this title to be a science-fiction themed rocker, yet there it is. Only Chuck Berry would think to write such a song and its dry humor and rich detail are classic stuff from this iconic composer and lyricist. Berry gets in some nice guitarwork on this side, which perhaps was a better bid for chart action.
One doesn't expect a song with this title to be a science-fiction themed rocker, yet there it is. Only Chuck Berry would think to write such a song and its dry humor and rich detail are classic stuff from this iconic composer and lyricist. Berry gets in some nice guitarwork on this side, which perhaps was a better bid for chart action.
Chuck Berry was in the middle of a chart dry spell and soon faced prison time. He was out of action for all of 1962. Upon his release to society, he returned to the pop charts with "Nadine," "No Particular Place to Go" and "You Never Can Tell," which were a trifecta of Top 30 hits. Beatlemania filled his coffers with royalty payments from multiple cover versions of his work, but his own releases went ignored by all but his staunchest fans. He'd hit #1 in 1972 with the inane "My Ding-a-Ling," which is an artistic low point but something the public loved, for reasons unknown.
Tomorrow: Don Guess, texas rock 'n' roll pal of Buddy Holly, delivers a popcorn-flavored minor-key bopper for Brunswick Records. This 1958 platter is one odd duck and worth a listen.
Tomorrow: Don Guess, texas rock 'n' roll pal of Buddy Holly, delivers a popcorn-flavored minor-key bopper for Brunswick Records. This 1958 platter is one odd duck and worth a listen.
Wow! Both songs hit the ground running and never let up. Love that tinkly piano on "Jaguar and Thunderbird". "Our Little Rendezvous" is quite charming and sincere. Building a rocket ship is not something you'd expect a guy to go to that great length for said rendezvous. This was timely in 1960 with the Russian/American space race ginning up.
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