Listen to Chuck Berry Perform with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Etta James on This Day in 1986

Music Features Chuck Berry
Listen to Chuck Berry Perform with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Etta James on This Day in 1986

One of the grandfathers of rock ’n’ roll, Chuck Berry filmed a famous live concert, Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, on this day in 1986. That day, the seminal R&B musician played two shows at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Mo., with a whole host of special guests, including Keith Richards, Etta James, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and Julian Lennon.

Berry had apparently booked a last-minute show in Ohio the night before and damaged his voice, but soldiered on for two impressive St. Louis shows. When the film was released, his vocals ended up being overdubbed with studio recordings and the film did not include the entire show. This recording contains nearly double the amount of material that was originally released, even more than the deluxe 4-DVD box set. This audio, which comes from Wolfgang’s Vault, was taken straight from the sound board recording and it documents what actually took place that night.

Berry performed a string of hits from his back catalogue like “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Too Much Monkey Business,” “Johnny B. Goode” and “Hoochie Coochie Man.” Listen to Chuck Berry’s full show, recorded on this day in 1986 below.

Share Tweet Submit Pin