Tag: Johnnie Johnson

CHUCK BERRY HAIL! HAIL! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Screens Thursday March 8th at Schlafly Bottleworks


CHUCK BERRY HAIL! HAIL! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL screens Thursday March 8th at 7:00pm at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143). This is part of the A FILM SERIES “Culture Shock” Film Fest which has moved to the second Thursday of every month. 


On October, 18th 1986, on the sixtieth birthday of Chuck Berry, there was a concert at the Fox Theater in his hometown Saint Louis. With CHUCK BERRY HAIL! HAIL! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, director Taylor Hackford does a phenomenal job in this movie. Chuck Berry, one of the most complicated and conflicted figures in the history of rock and pop music is rich territory and Hackford managed to catch Berry in all of his many guises – charming, professional, intelligent, thoughtful, bitter, petulant, unprofessional, difficult, and combative. What really marks this movie as a superior documentary is Hackford refusal to judge Berry to focus on just documenting the man and his behavior in a variety of situations and from a variety of sources. There really is no ax-grinding going on in this movie and there is no whitewashing – everything is what it is whether it’s Berry in a touching scene with his mother and father or it’s Berry in a petulant rehearsal stare-down with Keith Richards when Berry isn’t getting his way.


Hackford’s other great achievement in this movie is the excellent recording of Berry’s 60th Anniversary Concert, the predominate reason for the whole project and the involvement of other pop/rock music notables at the Fox Theatre. Backed by Keith Richards, Johnnie Johnson (Berry’s pianist and forgotten early influence), Steve Jordan, Bobby Keys, Robert Cray, and Joey Spaminato, Berry performs a spectacular show. Hackford catches the performer’s excitement, the crowd’s excitement, and Berry’s energy and showmanship in a way those of us too young to have seen or heard Berry can begin to understand why he serves a such a seminal influence in pop and rock music.


The movie is full of entertaining nuggets. Hackford’s interviews with Keith Richards are fascinating. Richards’ comments are just insightful about Berry, the influence of Berry’s music, and the influence of Johnson of Berry’s songs; they’re also fascinating in just watching and listening to Richards himself – part mystic, part philosopher, part drunk. Also particularly interesting is a three-way conversation between Berry, Little Richard, and Bo Diddly who go into great detail about their early careers, music, business, and how racism negatively affected their careers and their recognition as the earliest purveyors of rock and roll.


I think this movie is interesting regardless of whether your actually interested in Berry beforehand or not. It is as fine a documentary that any director could produce and you should catch CHUCK BERRY HAIL! HAIL! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL March 8th when it screens at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood.

A Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/197087531044314/


$6 for the screening. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed suds.

“Culture Shock” is the name of a film series here in St. Louis that is the cornerstone project of a social enterprise that is an ongoing source of support for Helping Kids Together(http://www.helpingkidstogether.com/) a St. Louis based social enterprise dedicated to building cultural diversity and social awareness among young people through the arts and active living.

The films featured for “Culture Shock” demonstrate an artistic representation of culture shock materialized through mixed genre and budgets spanning music, film and theater. Through ‘A Film Series’ working relationship with Schlafly Bottleworks, they seek to provide film lovers with an offbeat mix of dinner and a movie opportunities.

Win Tickets To The JOHNNIE’S JAM: A TRIBUTE TO JOHNNIE JOHNSON

Filmmaker Art Holliday is hosting a fundraising concert on Sept 19th for his documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD and we are giving away tickets for the event. JONNIE BE GOOD is the story of St. Louis native Johnnie Johnson, who took his place in the Rock-n-Roll Hall Of Fame.

Johnnie’s Jam: A Tribute to Johnnie Johnson

The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd, St. Louis 7 p.m.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. You must be in the St. Louis area on the day of the concert.

2. Fill out your name and email address below.

3. Tell us one thing that you admire about Johnnie Johnson.

If you don’t win, you can still purchase tickets to the event. Tickets can be purchased through MetroTix (314-534-1111 or Metrotix.com).

“Johnnie’s Jam” features Conan O’Brien musicians as well as Holliday’s discussion on his seven year documentary project about the life and music of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Johnnie Johnson and show excerpts from the film-in-progress.  LA singer/songwriter Dona Oxford will open the evening with the Johnnie Johnson Band.

Before they joined Conan O’Brien’s band, guitarist Jimmy Vivino, bassist Mike Merritt, and drummer James Wormworth toured internationally and recorded with Johnnie Johnson.

Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, and James Wormworth have performed with the likes of B.B.King, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Branford Marsalis, Robert Palmer, Pete Townsend, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Phoebe Snow, Cissy Houston, Al Kooper, The New York Rock and Soul Revue with Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Levon Helm, Wynton Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Rufus Wainwright, Bo Diddley, Trisha Yearwood, Michael McDonald, and Isaac Hayes.

Dona Oxford was a protégé and great friend of Johnnie. Every musician on stage September 19th will have a direct link to Johnnie Johnson and they’ll share their stories about the man behind the legend behind the music.

St. Louis Filmmaker Art Holliday’s JOHNNIE BE GOOD Fundraising Concert w/Conan O’Brien Band Members‏

JOHNNIE BE GOOD Fundraising Efforts

Music documentary on Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson gets fundraising concert with Conan O’Brien musicians & a tax deductible crowd-funding site on IndieGoGo

ST. LOUIS: Filmmaker Art Holliday is hosting a September 19th fundraising concert “Johnnie’s Jam: A Tribute to Johnnie Johnson” at The Sheldon for his music documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD, the story of St. Louis native and Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson. This film is also featured on the site IndieGoGo where people can “buy” various tax deductible items from the film while helping Mr. Holliday build up the funds needed to finish the film.

“Johnnie’s Jam” features Conan O’Brien musicians as well as Holliday’s discussion on his seven year documentary project about the life and music of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Johnnie Johnson and show excerpts from the film-in-progress. LA singer/songwriter Dona Oxford will open the evening with the Johnnie Johnson Band.

Before they joined Conan O’Brien’s band, guitarist Jimmy Vivino, bassist Mike Merritt, and drummer James Wormworth toured internationally and recorded with Johnnie Johnson. These world class musicians will perform at The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd, St. Louis on September 19th at 7 p.m. Tax deductible tickets can be purchased at Metrotix (314-534-1111  or Metrotix.com).

Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, and James Wormworth have performed with the likes of B.B.King, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Branford Marsalis, Robert Palmer, Pete Townsend, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Phoebe Snow, Cissy Houston, Al Kooper, The New York Rock and Soul Revue with Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Levon Helm, Wynton Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Rufus Wainwright, Bo Diddley, Trisha Yearwood, Michael McDonald, and Isaac Hayes.

Dona Oxford was a protégé and great friend of Johnnie. Every musician on stage September 19th will have a direct link to Johnnie Johnson and they’ll share their stories about the man behind the legend behind the music.

Synopsis:

On New Year’s Eve 1952, band leader Johnnie Johnson hired a guitar player he admired named Chuck Berry and they became two of the creators of rock and roll, influencing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. JOHNNIE BE GOOD is the story of the complicated relationship between two Rock and Roll Hall Famers: Chuck Berry, the brilliant lyricist and businessman, and piano man Johnnie Johnson, a master boogie woogie and blues keyboardist, complimented each other perfectly and collaborated on hits such as “Maybellene”, “Rock and Roll Music”, “No Particular Place to Go”, and “Roll Over Beethoven”. Only Berry’s name appeared on the writing credits and it will always be contested how many of Berry’s songs should have been co-credited to Johnson. Not even a lawsuit settled the debate. Eight members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame conducted interviews for JOHNNIE BE GOOD: Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Bob Weir, the late Bo Diddley, Joe Perry, and John Sebastian.

Money can’t buy happiness, but can buy a music documentary! For anything from photos, cds and signed copies of the script all the way up to producer’s credit in the film, fans can help finish JOHNNIE BE GOOD. The script is being edited and a rough cut put together while Holliday gives IndieGoGo a “go” to raise the $15,000 online to finish the film and begin entering festivals and submitting to distributors. For more on the documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD, visit the film’s official site, like it on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.

Promote your business & help finish our film! Put an ad in the program for “Johnnie’s Jam” at The Sheldon. 1/4 page: $35, 1/2 page: $60, Full Page: $100. If interested, please contact Marla: m.stoker@att.net and she’ll set you up! Hey…it’s an advertising cost so you can use it as a tax deduction!

JOHNNIE BE GOOD THE MOVIE: Meet The Filmmaker

On June 6th, there will be a presentation by filmmaker Art Holliday about the music documentary-in-progress JOHNNIE BE GOOD – the life and music of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame piano man Johnnie Johnson.

Here’s the schedule for Sunday’s events:

  • 5:30-5:45 PM – Carnahan HS Jam
  • 6:00-7:00 PM – Jeremiah Johnson Band with the Sliders Horn Section
  • 7:15-8:15 PM – Art Holliday: talking about the progress of the documentary, showing soundbites with Eric Clapton, movie director Taylor Hackford, and Letterman band leader Paul Shaffer, along with a trailer for JOHNNIE BE GOOD.
  • 8:30-9:00 PM – Billy Barnett Band & special guests

Along with FREE live music, the event will be held at BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups. 700 Broadway, Saint Louis, MO from 5 – 9pm.

Have a look at the trailer:

For more on the documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD, visit the film’s official site or check it out on Facebook.

Event host PLAY IT FORWARD STL collects gently used and new instruments and donates them to local schools. It’s a worthy cause, so if you have musical instruments that aren’t being used, please consider donating them to PLAY IT FORWARD STL. The website is www.playitforwardstl.org.

Photo Courtesy: Art Holliday