In the mid Eighties, filmmaker Taylor Hackford asked Robbie Robertson if he would appear in a documentary about one of his musical heroes, Chuck Berry. Robertson quickly said yes and agreed to serve as musical director for the concert portion of what became the 1987 picture, Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll. Although Robertson decided he wasn’t a good fit for that role — Chuck Berry was hard to handle, so he passed the reins over to Keith Richards — he still looks back fondly on the time he spent with Berry.
Robertson recently stopped by Rolling Stone, where he sat for an interview for an upcoming installment of our “The First Time” series. While he was in the office, he also recounted some of his experiences during the filming of Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, which was reissued this week as a collector’s edition Blu-ray.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/robbie-robertson-chuck-berry-interview-916173/