Chuck Berry - Rockin' At The Hops

Many albums have had a huge influence on impressionable young people, especially in the late 50s and early 60s, in the world of Rock 'n' Roll and Blues. Live At Newport (Muddy Waters), Live At The Regal (B.B. King), and King Of The Delta Blues Singers (Robert Johnson) immediately spring to mind. Rockin' At The Hops can sit quite easily by the side of these albums. This was Chuck's fourth album on the legendary Chess Masters Label, with a band of some of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen. Johnnie Johnson (Piano), Matt " Guitar " Murphy (Guitar), Wille Dixon (Bass), Fred Below (Drums), L.C. Davies (Tenor Sax), and of course, Charles Edward Anderson Berry (Guitar and Vocals). 

Every aspiring musician of that era could not have escaped listening to this album. Every guitarist and singer/songwriter that emerged in the early 60s will, at some point, have wanted to be Chuck Berry. Not only has Chuck Berry defined Rock 'n' Roll with numbers such as Bye Bye Johnny, Too Pooped To Pop, Let It Rock, he also brought blues to the attention of this highly impressionable generation by covering tunes like Worried Life Blues (Maceo Merriweather) and Driftin' Blues ( Charles Brown and Johnny Moore). 

People in the 60s could be forgiven for thinking that Elvis Presley had turned the world upside down as the king of Rock 'n' Roll; Chuck Berry had been doing this for years before Elvis arrived on the scene. His great lyrics, great guitar playing, and of course, his unique duck walk on stage had caught the attention of everyone in the Western world. 

Robert Plant once said that Led Zeppelin were the sons of Howlin' Wolf and The Rolling Stones were sons of Chuck Berry, and how right he was. This brings me to another confirmation of how influential this album was. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had known each other since early childhood at school; they both originate from Dartford, Kent. Having lost touch for a few years, a fateful meeting on a train would help define blues music for the next 60 years. Mick Jagger happened to walk into the same carriage that Keith was sitting in; under Mick's arm were two albums, The Best Of Muddy Waters and Rockin' At The Hops, by Chuck Berry. The rest, as they say, is history.