The Oldies Music Board

You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



September 9, 2021 2:09 pm  #1


I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

I'm listening to "Come On" by Chuck Berry and his sister Martha and I wonder why they didn't record more such duets... 
That would be music! 

 

September 9, 2021 4:13 pm  #2


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

I wasn't familiar with this song, but I did a search and found that it was issued as a single with another song that she sang on, Go-Go-Go, on the flip side. Although this single reached #38 in the UK, it didn't chart here, so that wouldn't have helped any with regards to using her further -- but it was also the last single that he put out before being jailed from February 1962 until October 1963. I don't know if Martha would have had any interest in recording with him further after he was released, but Berry resumed having hits on his own in 1964 that were similar to his earlier hits -- especially in the case of No Particular Place To Go, which used the same tune as School Days. So I think he might have just regarded having Martha sing with him as an experiment that didn't work out in terms of being successful. 

 

September 10, 2021 6:49 am  #3


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

I don't have all the information from that time in Central Europe after all these years and I don't know all the context.
I evaluate Chuck Berry's songs more on a feeling basis and I like them. 

     Thread Starter
 

September 10, 2021 6:56 am  #4


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

And it's interesting that Martha Berry is not mentioned on the label of the single. 

     Thread Starter
 

September 10, 2021 7:48 am  #5


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

mroldies wrote:

I don't have all the information from that time in Central Europe after all these years and I don't know all the context.
I evaluate Chuck Berry's songs more on a feeling basis and I like them. 

Yes, when I saw your original post I thought I'd find out more about the record, in case there was some context like that which would help explain why he didn't have her record with him again. I was only 4 years old when he made his 1964 comeback, but it was an unusual one. A lot of North American artists who were having hits before the British Invasion occurred suddenly found that their music no longer fit in with what was popular, but it was just the opposite for Berry in 1964. His Wikipedia bio states, "When Berry was released from prison in 1963, his return to recording and performing was made easier because British invasion bands—notably the Beatles and the Rolling Stones—had sustained interest in his music by releasing cover versions of his songs, and other bands had reworked some of them, such as the Beach Boys' 1963 hit Surfin' U.S.A., which used the melody of Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen." So it seems that he figured that he could put out records that were done in much the same way as his earlier hits and have success, and that turned out to be correct. 
 

 

September 10, 2021 7:57 am  #6


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

mroldies wrote:

And it's interesting that Martha Berry is not mentioned on the label of the single. 

It is, but it's also not uncommon in situations like this. I've long favoured giving some sort of credit to people like that on a record, and that can be done in a way that shows them as being secondary if necessary ... for instance, in this case the records could have been released as being by Chuck Berry, but then underneath his name they could have included "with Martha Berry" in smaller print. But I think that contributions like this are often viewed as being part of the backing musicians to an artist, who don't typically get credited on singles although they might on albums. So I think that's what was the case here. 

Last edited by Lorne (September 10, 2021 7:59 am)

 

September 10, 2021 9:21 am  #7


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

Agree though to me she adds to the record. I prefer it over the Rolling Stones version.  I also hear a lot of crackling guitar noise as if Chuck blew a speaker.

 

September 10, 2021 10:12 am  #8


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

Mark H. wrote:

Agree though to me she adds to the record. I prefer it over the Rolling Stones version.  I also hear a lot of crackling guitar noise as if Chuck blew a speaker.

Yes, I think she does as well. I also think that the single could have been more successful if it had come out a couple of years earlier. By the time that it was released, Berry hadn't had a top 40 hit in two years. I would imagine that his legal troubles were hurting both his airplay and his ability to tour, and it may also not have fit that well with what was popular by then. I'm speculating here more than I'd really like, however, because when I searched for info about this record I didn't find that much -- and hardly anything about Martha at all. I also didn't know that the Stones had released this song as their first single; it's possible that I have read this in the past, but because I didn't know the song it hasn't stayed with me. I'm glad that mroldies posted about it, given all the noteworthy aspects about this record.

 

September 11, 2021 7:48 am  #9


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

Really nice song...quite short, but nice.

 

September 11, 2021 6:40 pm  #10


Re: I'm listening to Chuck Berry's "Come On"...

Chuck's sister Martha Berry sang back up vocals on 5 songs in the 3.8.1961 recording session.
Go Go Go
Come On
Adulteen
The Man And The Donkey
Trick Or Treat

In the late 60s, 70s, and 80s his daughter Ingrid sang back up on a lot of songs.

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum