Chuck Berry with Springsteen and the E Street band worst performance ever!

at 2:45 mark Nils Lofgren discusses the bands performance with Chuck Berry at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening.
I think the song in question was Rock and Roll Music? Chuck “deliberately” changes the key of the song about 5 or 6 times to mess with the band. Ultimately duck walking off the stage in the middle of the performance before getting in his car and driving off.
Leaving the entire band in shambles all playing in different keys which Nils describes as hilarious and the worst performance of their careers.
Does anyone know if a recording of this song exists somewhere?

 

Normally it's not, wholly negative threads are frowned upon here, either because they're usually either slaughtering sacred cows and people get mad about that, or they become magnets for people to just dump negativity like monkeys flinging poo.

But in this case, it's the artist themselves describing a particular performance as the worst ever? So that's more open for discussion.

 

This song is from the same show ..__which is absolutely great!
Evidently though…things went south later in the day before closing out the concert which Nils discusses in the OP video above.

 

I watched that live on TV. I think it was "Rock 'n' Roll Music" Chuck just kept making up new verses as the credits rolled. If I remember correctly, the broadcast cut off before he finished. I recorded it on VHS but never re-watched it.

 

Yes I was thinking this song had to have been filmed.
Hopefully it’s out there somewhere !

 

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer

SHOW FINALE A WHIMPER, NOT THE PROMISED BANG
Publication date: 9/4/1995

Byline: MICHAEL NORMAN, PLAIN DEALER MUSIC CRITIC

It’s probably fitting that Saturday’s Concert for the Hall of Fame at the Stadium ended in a flurry of confusion and chaos.

That’s rock ’n' roll. It may have an expensive new home in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. But it has always been scruffy, unpolished and unpredictable.

Chuck Berry was supposed to fire up the crowd for the show’s big finale, playing his 1950s hit “Rock and Roll Music” with Bruce Springsteen, Melissa Etheridge and Booker T. and the MGs.

But things didn’t work out that way. Berry botched the lyrics and didn’t play the song in the same key as his support players. The show ended abruptly, without a planned all-star jam on the Beatles’ “Come Together” and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”

It was a disappointing finale. But the good news is that it was only a small portion of an otherwise extraordinary evening of fun, music, historic performances and warm nostalgia.

<snip> (Full article at the link below)

Remembering the Rock Hall’s ’Concert for the Hall of Fame’ on its 25th anniversary (Reviews, setlist, video)

 

Here's Melissa Etheridge talking about it:

 

Seems like there are a lot of stories like this about Chuck Berry.

 

I've heard lots of stories where Chuck couldn't have cared less about putting on a good show for the fans, as long as he got his cash up front.

Can't say they are all true, but if it looks like a duck(walk).....

 

In the Hail, Hail Rock n Roll movie, Bruce talks about how they were hired as a pickup band to back up Chuck at a local gig back before the E Street Band hit it big. I sure wish there were a film or audio tape of that.
That movie tells a lot about Chuck and his sometimes eccentric behavior.

 

It’s probably time to credit Chuck with Harmolodics, sorry Ornette.

 

Anybody got a link to the video?

 

I think “eccentric” is a very nice, respectful way to put it. I found him very full of himself and arrogant in the film, I hate to say. He put out the attitude, “I’m the great Chuck Berry, you all owe me and don’t you forget it”. Even if that’s true to an extent, no reason to outwardly revel in it. He should’ve been equally grateful to the younger guys at the time for furthering his legacy.

 

Despite all these stories many of these legendary performers still love him.
Chuck punched Kieth Richards in the face for playing his guitar without his permission.
Funny, because I’m told Chuck frequently played his guitar out of tune !

 

I can see the performance, but for some reason I can't link to it here. Just copy and paste the following in a search engine. First result that comes up should be the one. Go to 1:03:00 in the video that comes up:

concert for hall of fame 1995 part three archive.org

 

I've seen that video. I think any of us would have punched Keith.

 

The Jerry Lee Lewis thing was off too.

 

Springsteen says he asked Berry what songs they would be playing. He was told they'd be playing some Chuck Berry songs. 'Nuff said.

 

Did anyone see it yet?

If you've seen it and you know a way to successfully link to it, please do.

 

Hoo boy. I was there.

It was the worst performance I've ever seen by anybody, ever. But it didn't matter. Little Richard was on just before that mess and he blew the place to smithereens.

 

I read about this first, years ago, in an article written by the late great Cub Koda in Goldmine,
where he even had to defend, IIRC, Max Weinberg as not being the reason for this. (someone had written in...)
He stated about Chuck's attitude to his backing bands, and also about how he is a HUGE Chuck Berry fan, but that Chuck was absolutely to blame for the performance and no one else.
It was a good article, not sure if it's online anywhere.

 

Agree; he came off like a total jerk (to put it nicely) in the movie. I find it hard to watch, honestly. I'm sorry I upgraded from DVD to Blu-ray with it.

 

Forward to 1:04:00

 

Can't see the video. That's the same thing I get when I try to link to it. But it's there at archive.org.

 

Gotta use an inline or text link: ConcertForHallOfFameSeptember21995PartThree

Embed doesn't work and it's triggered automatically posting an Internet Archive link by itself.