Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

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Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (poster).jpg
Film poster
Directed by Taylor Hackford
Produced by Keith Richards
Chuck Berry
Stephanie Bennett
Starring Chuck Berry
Keith Richards
Johnnie Johnson
Roy Orbison
Joey Spampinato
Chuck Leavell
Bobby Keys
Steve Jordan
Eric Clapton
Robert Cray
Linda Ronstadt
Etta James
Julian Lennon
Joe Walsh
Ingrid Berry
Music by Chuck Berry
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • October 9, 1987 (1987-10-09)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$719,323

Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll is a 1987 American documentary film directed by Taylor Hackford that chronicles two 1986 concerts celebrating rock and roll musician Chuck Berry's 60th birthday. A soundtrack album was released in October 1987 on the MCA label. The name comes from a line in Berry's song "School Days".

Contents

The two concerts were held on October 16, 1986, at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis; among the artists performing with Berry were Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Etta James, Johnnie Johnson, Steve Jordan, Bobby Keys, Julian Lennon, and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ. Along with concert footage, the film also features scenes from the rehearsals for the shows, interviews with Berry and members of his family, and "talking-head"-type appearances from a number of musicians, including Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, John Lennon (archival footage), Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Little Richard and Bruce Springsteen.

Track listing

Taylor Hackford's film is a wickedly funny and moving rock-doc classic, exposing Berry the money-grubbing control freak without devaluing his genius in the process.

—Robert Christgau [1]
  1. "Come On" (Chuck Berry) rehearsal at Berry's home, Wentzville 8.-14.10.86
  2. "Carol" (Chuck Berry) rehearsal at Berry's home, Wentzville 8.-14.10.86
  3. "It Don't Take But a Few Minutes" (Chuck Berry) -rehearsal at Berry's home, Wentzville 8.-14.10.86
  4. "I'm Through With Love" (Gus Kahn/Matt Malneck/Fud Livingston) rehearsal at Berry's home, Wentzville 8.-14.10.86
  5. "Roll Over Beethoven" (Chuck Berry) (ft. Robert Cray)
  6. "Almost Grown" (Chuck Berry)
  7. "Back in the U.S.A." (Chuck Berry) (ft. Cray, Linda Ronstadt)
  8. "Sweet Little Sixteen" (Chuck Berry)
  9. "No Money Down" (Chuck Berry)
  10. "Nadine" (Chuck Berry)
  11. "Johnny B. Goode" (Chuck Berry) (ft. Julian Lennon)
  12. "Memphis, Tennessee" (Chuck Berry)
  13. "Little Queenie" (Chuck Berry)
  14. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (Chuck Berry) (ft. Cray)
  15. "Too Much Monkey Business" (Chuck Berry)
  16. "No Particular Place to Go" (Chuck Berry)
  17. "Wee Wee Hours" (Chuck Berry) (ft. Eric Clapton)
  18. "Rock and Roll Music" (Chuck Berry) (ft. Clapton, Cray, Etta James, Keith Richards)
  19. "School Days" (Chuck Berry) (ft. Berry, Clapton, Cray, Joe Walsh)

Bonus rehearsals on the DVD

  1. "Guitar Jam" (Chuck Berry/Keith Richards/Eric Clapton)
  2. "Mean Old World" (Walter Jacobs)
  3. "It Don't Take But a Few Minutes" (Chuck Berry)
  4. "Hoochie Coochie Gal" (Willie Dixon/Etta James)
  5. "A Cottage for Sale" (Willard Robison/Larry Conley)

The band

As told in the interview section of the Bonus DVD, Berry shot his voice at a cold open air concert the day before the filming of the movie. All of his lead vocals are therefore overdubbed in a studio.

References

  1. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1988). "Chuck Berry". In Decurtis, Anthony; Henke, James (eds.). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music. New York: Random House. pp. 60–66. ISBN   0-679-73728-6.
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