Johnny B. Bad: Chuck Berry and the Making of Hail! Hail! Rock ?N? Roll

Bennett, Stephanie; Richards, Keith [Contributor]; Mirren, Helen [Contributor]; Richard, Little [Contributor]; Diddley, Bo [Contributor]; Springsteen, Bruce [Contributor]; Clapton, Eric [Contributor];

ISBN 10: 1947856901 / ISBN 13: 9781947856905

Published by Rare Bird Books, A Vireo Book, 2019

About this Item

Signed and dated by author Stephanie Bennett on title page. First Edition, first printing. Hardcover with fine dust jacket. Book is in Excellent "Gift Quality" condition, pages are clean and tight. Seller Inventory # 61272

Bibliographic Details

Title: Johnny B. Bad: Chuck Berry and the Making of...

Publisher: Rare Bird Books, A Vireo Book

Publication Date: 2019

Binding: hardcover

Condition: Like New

Signed: Signed by Author

About this title

Synopsis:

Thirty years ago, Chuck Berry starred in the seminal music documentary Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ’N’ Roll, which profiled the legend during a star-studded concert celebrating his sixtieth birthday. Now, on the heels of Berry’s death, comes the complete story behind one of America’s most enduring and embattled icons.

Compiled as an oral history by the film’s producer, Stephanie Bennett, Johnny B. Bad combines interviews from the film’s participants, including its music director― Keith Richards. These unique interviews and accounts paint a vivid and multifaceted picture of the artist. Berry was at once a witty, articulate genius, now widely considered the godfather of rock and roll; a shrewd businessman, who had no trouble endlessly renegotiating contracts and refusing to perform until additional cash was gathered up; and also a convicted criminal, who in addition to serving time in prison for transporting a minor across state lines for “immoral purposes” had also been accused of sexual assault and sued in civil court for installing cameras in the restroom of the Southern Air, a restaurant he owned in Wentzville, Missouri.

Review:

“I’m the perfect test of a book like Johnny B. Bad because before reading it I had precisely zero interest in Chuck Berry or in rock and roll, to be honest. But this is the superbly written story of a man whose style, determination, ambition and life-force are utterly captivating, irrespective of his chosen field. Stephanie Bennett makes him and his world leap off the page and convince even an ignoramus like me to search for his music and for the film which forms the kernel of this entirely captivating book.”
―Stephen Fry

Praise for Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
"Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll is...probably the most revealing look we'll ever get of its subject, and the most loving evocation of his music."
―The Washington Post

"...a fascinating character study."
―The Los Angeles Times

"...works on two levels: as a portrait of a private, bitter and streetwise man, and as a major musical talent performing with obvious delight."
―Chicago Tribune

"...marvelously energetic."
―Christian Science Monitor