Page 276 - YGARTUA: Magnum Opus - volume three

Revolutionary blues singer Chuck Berry, often
referred to as the “poet laureate” and “father”
of rock n’ roll and best lyricist in rock n’ roll
history .“Roll Over Beethoven” is a 1956 hit
single by Chuck Berry originally released on
Chess Records, with “Drifting Heart” as the
B-side. The lyrics of the song mention
rock and roll and the desire for rhythm
and blues to replace classical music.
There is a popular saying that a
deceased person would “roll over in their grave”
if they heard something that would have deeply
disturbed them had they been alive. The title
line of the song is a reference to how Ludwig
van Beethoven would do just that in reaction to
the advent of the new musical genre that Chuck
Berry was leading.
“In the early sixties I used to listen to Chuck
Berry and Buddy Holly at the fairgrounds
in New Brighton, “Roll Over Beethoven”
was sung all the time and one of my all-time
favorites to dance to. At the time we considered
Chuck Berry, The King of Rock n’ Roll along
with Buddy Holly, they were all the rage at the
time and talent like that never dies (this was
before we even heard of the Beatles).
When I started the Laird School of Art in
Birkenhead at 15 years of age, 1960 and I used
to go on weekends to The Cavern Club to
listen to the amazing bands of the sixties: Gerry
and Pacemakers, The Searchers, Rory Storm
and the Hurricanes, The Roadrunners and the
QuarryMen, former name of the Beatle Group
were all there and this was all before Epstein
and Ringo, and before the Beatles who made
the Cavern Club famous.
The Roadrunners were a group that I would
help out with on the weekends, carrying their
equipment to the different venues. Being an
assistant for the group also enabled me to get
all the extras, no entrance charges, etc. A few
were at the Liverpool School of Art where I
attended and where I also met John Lennon,
just before they went to Germany, prior to the
fortuitous meeting with Brian Epstein, when
everything changed starting with their name
from the QuarryMen to The Beatles renamed by
Epstein, their brilliant promoter that tragically
overdosed accidentally in 1967 at 32.
I was influenced and inspired by all the
musicians that I met and listened to in the early
60s and I believe it gave me an insight into
the emotion and feelings of Rock Music and
when I was painting Chuck Berry, it brought
back memories of the days when I was at the
Fairground listening to his music and dancing
to Roll Over Beethoven.
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