I never liked the tv shows with goofy big band arrangements to back Chuck Berry (or worse, little combos playing goofy big band arrangements). It seems especially dumb that The Grammy Awards would have that kind of backup with all their resoures and musical connections. It's rock and roll for goodness sake. But oh well-- he did nicely anyway; and got a little tiny spoolful of the honor he deserves.
It's ironic. Chuck Berry's early fantasy would have been to sit on a bandstand with a big band. But his own musical legacy wound up being different-- ragged, invented on the spot, same thing, every day, but each time a little different, working the crowd, searching for the spark that would put it all ablaze. It was hard work in the early 19080s, before the movie and the book. When he sings "she don't love me" they show him under the bright lights looking like a man with a hammer and a long day's work ahead-- and you'll see her, out in the crowd, looking bored. She don't love him. But eventually they can't resist, and even raise their gloved, bejeweled hands, and smile.
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