Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)

Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll: Directed by Taylor Hackford. With Chuck Berry, Ingrid Berry, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray. This documentary movie covers two concerts at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, to celebrate Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday, and also discusses his life and career.

“If you were young when rock-and-roll was young, then you will probably enjoy this; if you were not young at that time, then this would give you a bit of history. Even though I was not around for the era of the big bands, seeing movies like u0026quot;The Glenn Miller Storyu0026quot; or listening to some Artie Shaw or Tommy Dorsey gave me an appreciation for the music of a previous generation, and an understanding that those of that generation are not hopelessly antiquated.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe bulk of the movie is footage of a concert in St. Louis at the Fox Theater in celebration of Berryu0026#39;s 60th birthday in 1986. Berry plays a lot of his classics – he was still an amazingly agile and robust performer at the time. Kieth Richards plays a big part in this movie. Apparently Richards was bothered by the fact that Berry always picked up lackluster backup bands wherever he played and he put together a good backup band for this concert, himself included of course. There are guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, and Julian Lennon. There are interviews with Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Little Richard (a delight), John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and much talk from Keith Richards. The fact that Richards is still alive at this late date is a testament to the resilience of the human body.”