The Promised Land; Chuck Berry & the Civil Rights Movement

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3 ай бұрын

Long considered to be the “Father of Rock ’n Roll,” Chuck Berry was not known as a social activist. Yet, he was raised in the Jim Crow South and often suffered as an artist due to racial discrimination. In this song, penned in 1962, Berry tells of a “po’ boy” struggling to travel out of “segregationist” Dixie and on to the “Promised Land.”
In so doing, he name-checks the sites of numerous civil rights conflicts and historic protests. Many of Berry’s songs contain deeper hidden meanings. This is one of his best.

Пікірлер: 46

@jamesbradshaw3389 26 күн бұрын

Not enough people know/knows how great the great Chuck Berry was, he was the supreme poet, and storyteller of brilliant rocking music,

@dabsafe 25 күн бұрын

No Chuck Berry? Then there’s no rock n’ roll. Chuck was God 😎🇨🇦🎸

@roadrunner3867 20 күн бұрын

He was the "wordmaster."

@johnenglish929 18 күн бұрын

Don’t be daft. He’s one-of the best known and most popular artists ever who is widely acknowledged- including by John Lennon - as the father of rock n roll.

@jimmeltonbradley1497 27 күн бұрын

My favourite Berry song. Ive been singing it since i joined my first rock band in 1976.

@daveleslie4396 Ай бұрын

Never connected the dots. Kudos for pointing it out.

@jamesconroy6078 18 күн бұрын

If you have ever been to one of his concerts, you know how fantastic he was. Saw him 3 times in S.F. 1960’s. Winterland was on fire. Love Chuck.

@Anne6621 16 күн бұрын

always always thought this was Chucks best song and it always blew my mind that people totally missed the message in it

@pamelajordan2890 8 күн бұрын

I was so honored to attend one of his concerts many years ago.❤️❤️☮️

@steveread4021 8 күн бұрын

Me too. But this isn't him.

@pamelajordan2890 8 күн бұрын

@@steveread4021 definitely not him.

@williamzander9708 16 күн бұрын

This song always brought tears to my eyes drove semi to all those states and you could feel that song when hauling out of poor places . Everyone is alike if you feel dignity for what there worth .

@vovavrangel4433 Ай бұрын

Thank you very much

@richardhebden5603 Ай бұрын

the greatest rock and roller

@michaelegan9568 28 күн бұрын

Maybe you have some inside knowledge that I've never heard but Chuck wrote this while he was in prison It had to do with him going to the promised land when he was released from jail, one of the things I do remember on his story of this song is that they wouldn't let him have a map so he had to use his fellow inmates to glean information from them of the different cities and directions

@andrewconway7730 Ай бұрын

He wasnt born and raised in the south; he's from St. Louis.

@peterweisz42 Ай бұрын

Correct. St. Louis was a segregated city in 1930s & 40s. As a young performer, Berry traveled extensively across the South and came face to face with Jim Crow racism. Not wishing to alienate any of his Southern record and ticket-buying followers by overtly championing the civil rights movement, he slyly slipped in references - in this tune and others - that paid homage to the struggle going on around him in the 1960s. That's the point of this video. Thanks to R.J. Smith for drawing attention to this aspect of Chuck Berry's career in Smith's outstanding biography: Chuck Berry; An American Life. (Hatchett Books, 2022).

@andrewconway7730 Ай бұрын

That may all be true, but he technically wasn't raised in the Jim Crow south, like your opening statement said. To state that St. Louis is considered part of the south is simply error. The city is literally known as "the gateway to the west".

@Themaddprof Ай бұрын

@@andrewconway7730 Technically, St. Louis, Missouri counts as a Southern State, as it is below the Mason-Dixon line,

@tonyharper8056 Ай бұрын

@@Themaddprof

@CF-nh6lc Ай бұрын

St. Louis was the Jim Crow South for all practical purposes.

@davidstout6051 Ай бұрын

Never noticed the connection. Thanks.

@billsmulick9484 Ай бұрын

Awome

@chuckg2016 17 күн бұрын

THIS is rightfully one of the two who can be called King of Rock & Roll. Look to Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.

@SB-Kiwi 14 күн бұрын

And Little Richard

@charlesvgrife2153 14 күн бұрын

Don't forget Sister Rosetta Tharpe!

@SB-Kiwi 14 күн бұрын

@@charlesvgrife2153 absolutely! 👍🏼

@ricks7469 5 күн бұрын

⁠@@SB-Kiwiwith all due respect, Jerry Lee doesn’t belong in the conversation. Musically, look no further than Little Richard for the father of Rock and Roll. Rosetta did a thing that sounds like Rock and Roll but she was not the promoter that Little Richard was. As for Chuck, a genius, no doubt, for what he did with guitar but let’s not forget Carl Perkins.

@SB-Kiwi 5 күн бұрын

@@ricks7469 totally agree with you on Carl Perkins. Absolutely no argument there, but you don't agree Jerry Lee deserves to be in the top three? Why is that? The guy was there from very early on and as far as I'm aware was quite the innovator.

@michaelwittmann2644 19 күн бұрын

Who is singing?

@flick22601 12 күн бұрын

Chuck Berry

@MacHeath699 11 күн бұрын

@@flick22601No.

@michaelwittmann2644 10 күн бұрын

@@MacHeath699 Yep...the singer doesn't sound like Chuck Berry.

@Steve-wz5pz 8 күн бұрын

@@michaelwittmann2644 Agreed. Sounds to me like the playback is about 2/3 speed.

@michaelwittmann2644 8 күн бұрын

@@Steve-wz5pz 👍😎

@ericheine2414 16 күн бұрын

Chuck believed that Los Angeles was the Promised Land. If a black man could make it anywhere he could make it there. Also the song is an example of what we call a geographical- other examples would be Route 66 and Dancing In The Streets.