News Archive
Chubby Checker date
change
Friday, 19.
March 2010 - 10:51
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING DATE CHANGE:
CHUBBY CHECKER
03.04.10
- Munich, Germany - My Swinging Sixties
has moved to
01.04.10 - Munich, Germany - My Swinging Sixties
Source: Konrad Schöpe
Chuck Berry returns to
South America
Friday, 12.
March 2010 - 20:05
THE LEGENDARY
CHUCK BERRY
SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR 2010
12.05.10
- Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Vivo Rio
13.05.10 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - HSBC Brasil
More dates to be announced!
Source: Wolfgang Guhl
Movie about Johnnie
Johnson in the making
Friday, 12.
March 2010 - 20:05
JOHNNIE BE GOOD
THE MOVIE
Editing is underway for JOHNNIE BE GOOD, a
feature length documentary about Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame pianist Johnnie Johnson. JOHNNIE BE GOOD examines the
musical
relationship between two rock and roll architects, Johnnie Johnson and the
guitarist who
he hired in 1952, Chuck Berry.
David
Fricke of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote that Johnson "...went on to
become the
greatest sideman in rock and roll, at the very moment the music was being born."
Should
Johnson also be recognized as one half of rock and roll's first great
song-writing
team? Not even a lawsuit settled the debate.
Source: Lee Croes
Chuck Berry returns to
Sumner High School
Tuesday, 02.
March 2010 - 09:35
Chuck Berry honored at annual alumni
event
BY MICHELE MUNZ
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/01/2010
Rock 'n' roll star and Sumner High School
alumnus Chuck Berry sang at the school's annual alumni event Sunday, giving the
crowd hope and energy in their fight to keep the historic 135-year-old school
from closing this summer.
"Go Johnny, go, go," the 700-strong crowd joined along with Berry as
he sang the 1958 hit "Johnny B. Goode" that became one of the greatest
rock songs of all time,
"It means there is hope," 1980 graduate Warice Blackmon-Davis said as
she watched the 83-year-old jam on his guitar on the school stage. "If we
can get someone of his stature to come back and support what we are trying to do
... It means everything to me."
St. Louis school district leaders came close to closing the school over winter
break because of increasing violence along with dismal attendance, low
graduation rates, poor student performance and a lack of parental involvement.
Superintendent Kelvin Adams, however, agreed to a list of goals developed by the staff that the school must meet this semester in order to stay open. They must get 40 more students to school every day, recruit 70 parents for a parent-teacher group, trim suspensions and sign 60 more students up for extracurricular activities. Dozens more must pass their classes and all eligible seniors must graduate.
The crisis loomed over Sunday's annual Alumni Roundup, which honored the entertainers among the long list of famous graduates from Sumner, the first public high school for black students west of the Mississippi. Tennis great Arthur Ashe, rock star Tina Turner and opera singer Grace Bumbry are just a few.
In addition to Berry, others such as tap dancer Mark Gladney, poet Shirley LeFlore and award-winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk performed. Norfolk, class of 1969, hadn't returned to Sumner in 20 years because of work, he said. But he cleared Sunday's calendar.
The drama classes and talent shows at Sumner cured him of his stutter, he said. "I reached my potential because of this school," said Norfolk, 59. "The school has to be in operation for other students' potential to be realized."
Alumni Association president Jackie Vandeford said alumni have been raising money and volunteering at the school to help reach the goals. "It's a cry of urgency," she said. "We're in a battle."
Alumna Glenda Thornton, 51, of Normandy, volunteers every day, doing everything from calling the homes of absent students to wiping lunch tables. "I'm trying to show the kids how much Sumner High School means to me," she said.
Thornton said she fears, however, that her work is in vain. She can't even get her own son, a senior who is 18, to come to class. "But I still do it," Thornton said. "This is my background, where I grew up."
After Berry's performance, district and school officials presented Berry — who never graduated — with an honorary diploma. His son, Charles Berry Jr., said he had never seen his father so happy.
When asked why he wanted to return for the alumni event, the rock icon patted his heart. "I don't have much time left," was all he could manage before tears sent him escaping through the door.
Pictures:
http://stltoday.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=953499&CategoryID=38578
Video: http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=196869&catid=3
Source: Wolfgang Guhl
Little Richard health
update
Tuesday, 02.
March 2010 - 09:35
HEALTH
UPDATE ON LITTLE RICHARD:
- FULLY RECOVERED FROM HIP SURGERY
- NOW SUFFERS FROM PAIN IN HIS LEFT KNEE
- APPEARS DISORIENTATED
Source: Paul MacPhail
Chubby Checker makes
ultra-rare European appearance
Tuesday, 02.
March 2010 - 09:35
CHUBBY
CHECKER
03.04.10 - Munich, Germany - My Swinging Sixties (TV Show)
Thanks to Konrad Schöpe for this information!
Source: Konrad Schöpe
Fats Domino celebrates
82nd birthday
Tuesday, 02.
March 2010 - 09:35
FATS
DOMINO TURNS 82!
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FAT MAN,
WHO IS STILL VERY ALIVE AND KICKIN' IN NEW ORLEANS!
Source: Wolfgang Guhl