MU121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Maybellene, Fats Domino
Mu121 lecture 13
Chuck Berry the songwriter
Berry was also the most accomplished songwriter of the early rock ‘n’ roll era. Part of this
had to do with his ability to mix genres, but he made a significant contribution to rock ‘n’
roll in the form of the serious attention he gave to song lyrics. Berry‘s poetic use of
language took pop song lyrics to a whole new level. He regularly invented new words (such
as “motorvatin’”), framed pop songs in mini narratives, and, most importantly, geared his
subject material to the new burgeoning teenage culture. Berry understood the importance
of writing songs that appealed to clean-cut white sensibilities.
Berry knew that the key to real success was in crossing over, and wrote in such a way—
musically and lyrically—to appeal to the broadest possible audience. His songs were often
about everyday topics that American teens, both black and white, cared about: high school,
cars, rock ‘n’ roll music, parents and teenage culture itself. If early rock ‘n’ roll was the
music of youth culture, Chuck Berry—who was in his thirties when he had his first hits—
captured this perfectly. And, importantly, most lyrics were not sexually suggestive, meaning
that he could slip past the gatekeepers of the white American pop charts. In fact, because
Berry sang songs that were very close to the country genre, many people thought he was
white!
Berry on Berry
In Berry’s autobiography you are able to see the importance of what he calls writing an
integrationist song. Berry integrated sounds from the three separate industries—pop,
country and R&B. In order to gauge your understanding of Chuck Berry’s integrationist
method, turn to the learning activity below.
Learning Activity: Self-quiz
If you haven’t already, listen to “Maybellene,” which you will find on the Rock ‘n’ Roll
Explodes documentary at 37:20. Based on listening to this song, and the Chuck Berry
autobiography reading for this lesson, answer the following questions.
Crossing racial and musical boundaries
Both Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley assimilated hillbilly (a term that could refer to bluegrass,
C & W, or any traditional “old time” music) and R&B forms. Chess thought it odd that a
black guy was singing this hillbilly music and that’s what struck him as having commercial
potential—the very fact that Berry was subverting the standard segregated music industry
appealed to him. This was before Elvis scored #1 hits with his white-boy-sounding-black
singing style.
Crossing over
There are several reasons why Chuck Berry’s music successfully crossed over into the white
mainstream in the 1950s. In his biography of Berry, called Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The
Life and Hard Times of Chuck Berry (2005), Bruce Peg suggests that Berry purposefully
encouraged this racial ambiguity because he realized the benefits to his career. For
instance, in many early black and white publicity pictures, Berry’s hair is straightened (a
Document Summary
Berry was also the most accomplished songwriter of the early rock n" roll era. Part of this had to do with his ability to mix genres, but he made a significant contribution to rock n" roll in the form of the serious attention he gave to song lyrics. Berry s poetic use of language took pop song lyrics to a whole new level. He regularly invented new words (such as motorvatin" ), framed pop songs in mini narratives, and, most importantly, geared his subject material to the new burgeoning teenage culture. Berry understood the importance of writing songs that appealed to clean-cut white sensibilities. Berry knew that the key to real success was in crossing over, and wrote in such a way musically and lyrically to appeal to the broadest possible audience. His songs were often about everyday topics that american teens, both black and white, cared about: high school, cars, rock n" roll music, parents and teenage culture itself.
