美国国家公共电台 NPR Chuck Berry, Legend Of Rock 'N' Roll, Dies At 90

 

LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

We begin this hour with the death of a legend. The man known as the father of rock and roll died on Saturday. Chuck Berry is credited as the inventor of America's cultural soundtrack. He was found in his home in Missouri. He was 90 years old. NPR's Allison Keyes has this remembrance.

ALLISON KEYES, BYLINE¹: If extraterrestrials ever come across the Voyager space probe launched in 1977 as a postcard of Earth's civilization, one of the things they'll hear is this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JOHNNY B. GOODE")

KEYES: Chuck Berry's classic "Johnny B. Goode" was recorded in 1957 and is possibly a bit of rock and roll song of all time.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JOHNNY B. GOODE")

CHUCK BERRY: (Singing) Deep down in Louisiana, close to New Orleans, way back up in the woods among the evergreens², there stood a log cabin made...

KEYES: Berry's music is so enmeshed in America's soundtrack that NASA decided³ that it must be included in a package containing an assortment⁴ of all things that define this planet.

ANDY MACKAY: The amazing thing about "Johnny B. Goode" to me is that it sounds like a folk song.

KEYES: In 2008, producer Andy Mackay produced a four-CD boxed set of Chuck Berry's music.

MACKAY: Sounds like a song that came out of the generations - just honed over generations, not written by an individual. And yet it is written by an individual.

KEYES: Mackay believes Berry's ability to meld country, blues⁵ and R&B created the blueprint⁶ for what became rock and roll.

MACKAY: Essentially⁷, he made map. Buddy⁸ Holly⁹ maybe made the map for a band. Chuck Berry made the - he created the format¹⁰, though, for rock and roll from the lyric¹¹ content to the guitar riffs to the rhythms.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SWEET LITTLE 16")

BERRY: (Singing) All the cats want to dance with sweet little 16.

MACKAY: He was the architect. That's the term that some people use.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SWEET LITTLE 16")

BERRY: (Singing) Little 16 - she's got the grown-up blues, tight dresses and lipstick¹².

KEYES: Charles Edward Berry grew up in St. Louis, and his career epitomized the bad boy image that rock and roll artists have tried to cop ever since. But Berry was the real thing. He spent time in reform school for robbery at 18. He went to prison for income tax evasion¹³, as well as for transporting a minor¹⁴ across state lines for, quote, "immoral¹⁵ purposes." But it is his music that set America's pulse racing¹⁶.

The influences that shaped Berry's musical style also illustrate¹⁷ the dichotomy of the man. He emulated¹⁸ the smooth vocals¹⁹ of his idol²⁰ Nat King Cole and admired the gritty blues of another idol, Muddy Waters. Berry told NPR in 2000 that he met Waters after catching²¹ the blues man's show in 1955 - Chicago.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

BERRY: When he was over, I went up to him. I asked him for his autograph and told him that I played guitar. How do you get in touch with the record company? So he said, why don't you go see Leonard Chess over on 47th?

KEYES: Chess liked the song on Berry's audition²² tape that was similar to an old country tune²³ called "Ida Red," but had Berry rework it because he felt the name was too rural-sounding. His late pianist, Johnnie Johnson, drove to Chicago with Berry and told NPR in a 1999 interview what happened next.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

JOHNNIE JOHNSON: That was a problem. So nobody could think of a name, so we looked up under the window seal and there was a mascara box on there with Maybelline written on it. And Leonard Chess said, why don't we name that darn thing "Maybellene"?

KEYES: Berry heard the song on the radio when it was released in August 1955.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

BERRY: Passing by a tailor shop that I got my high school graduation coat made at, and I got - passed by the shop until the song played out, you know. I didn't want anybody to see me listening, you know, to it, but it was "Maybellene" I was listening to. And when it played out, you know, that was my last walk past the door of the place. And I flew home - you know, 20 blocks from home - and told everybody. I heard it. I heard it. I heard it.

KEYES: Berry continued to perform almost to the end at a St. Louis club called Blueberry Hill. Owner Joe Edwards says what's striking about Berry's music is the way the words stayed close to the beat, but still sounded like real speech.

JOE EDWARDS: What he did with the English language and how he worked the words and the detail that he put into the songs - I mean, if you listen to the verses in a Chuck Berry song, they keep changing, and they keep telling the story.

KEYES: "Maybellene" went to number five on the Billboard²⁴ chart in 1955, making Berry the rare black artist back then who successfully crossed over to the mostly white pop charts. Berry has said he deliberately²⁵ made his diction and his words harder and wider. Pianist Johnnie Johnson recalled that this caused consternation²⁶ on some road trips.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHNSON: When we would walk out on the stage, it'd be a lot of ohs (ph) and ahs (ph) and whatever because he's a black man playing hillbilly music.

KEYES: Berry continued with a string of hits, including "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man," "Roll Over, Beethoven" and "Rock And Roll Music," but he never bought into the idea that he himself invented the genre²⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BERRY: If you did start something, how can you say that anybody else had anything to do with it. If you started it, you know, you're the - you're the - is that why they say the father of rock? Boy, they have no idea how wrong they are (laughter).

KEYES: In 1986, Berry led the first class to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAYBELLENE")

BERRY: (Singing) Why can't you be true? Oh, Maybellene, why can't you be true? You done started doing the things you used to do. As I was motivating over...

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 evergreens   

n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The leaves of evergreens are often shaped like needles. 常绿植物的叶常是针形的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pine, cedar and spruce are evergreens. 松树、雪松、云杉都是常绿的树。 来自辞典例句

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

9 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

10 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

11 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

12 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

13 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

14 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

15 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

16 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

17 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

18 emulated   

v.与…竞争( emulate的过去式和过去分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The havoc that months had previously wrought was now emulated by the inroads of hours. 前几个月已经使他垮下来，如今更是一小时一小时地在恶化。 来自辞典例句
• The key technology emulated by CAD and the circuit is showed. 对关键技术进行了仿真，给出了电路实现形式。 来自互联网

19 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

20 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

21 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

22 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

23 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

24 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

25 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

26 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

27 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。