Chuck Berry in Hawaii, Part One

So I just got back from Hawaii, and I've decided to do a few pieces on Chuck Berry and Hawaii, so I googled some, and found this cool entry"

"The day ended with a Fourth of July celebration on the beach -- a magnificent dinner followed by a surprise performance from Academy member Chuck Berry. The student delegates cheered with delight as the Father of Rock and Roll mounted the seaside stage, placed for the occasion on a gleaming white sand dune, framed by a beautiful Hawaiian sunset. Still vigorous and mischievous in his 80s, Berry tore his way through some of his signature hits, "Roll Over Beethoven," "Round and Round," and "Rock and Roll Music." Academy members and student delegates soon crowded the illuminated dance floor, twisting and twirling to the original rock classics, played by the man who wrote them and first made them famous. Rolling Stone magazine has recently named Berry's tune "Johnny B. Goode" the "Greatest Guitar Song of All Time." When Berry and the band ripped into this number, the crowd overflowed onto the stage, and the bandstand was soon jammed with gleeful dancers. Just as the song reached a furiously rocking climax, spectacular fireworks erupted over the sea, lighting the sky with brilliant colors. When Chuck Berry finally left the stage, to a well-deserved ovation, the patriotic strains of John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" filled the air, and a marching line, led by Frank McCourt and Sally Field, jubilantly circled the stage. For visitors to the United States, the occasion provided an incomparable insight into the irrepressible American spirit; for U.S. citizens, it was as glorious a Fourth of July as one could ever hope to see."

That excerpt and photo come from this site: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/pagegen/newsletter/2008/  When Chuck Berry is followed by Frank McCourt, and when Bill Russell and Desmond Tutu are in attendance, too, life is pretty interesting.  (I don't think this club would let me be a member!) 

It seems, at first glance, like an amazing organization.  I'll have to learn more.  And I'm glad that our man is a member.   Search and you'll find that he has appeared there frequently, including this time with another favorite of mine.  http://www.achievement.org/newsletter/2003/news-12.pdf

Anyway-- when I've caught up with other stuff, I'll go back to Blues for Hawaiians, and Surfing Steel, and see what Mr. Berry has to say about Hawaii.

Aloha