Music history made in Illinois in the twentieth century. An aspir- Anderson Berry had already been Chuck Berry at ing performer, a band, and a interested in music for more than the Cosmo: East St. new sound rang out along Bond a decade. He gave his first per- Avenue on that night formance as a student at Summer Louis and the birth nearly 70 years ago. High School in his native St. This is the story of Louis in 1941. Born into a mid- of rock ’n’ roll how East St. Louis dle class family, Berry’s youth can rightfully was not without its problems. By William P. Shannon IV claim its place as He was arrested for armed one of the birth- rob- bery and steal- The author would like to thank Gary places of rock ’n’ ing a car in Kreie of St. Louis for sharing his research roll. Kansas City in into Chuck Berry’s connection to East 1944. He spent St. Louis. ast St. Louis three years in prison in a in the 1950s state reformatory near here was rock ’n’ roll hummed with Jefferson City, Missouri. While music born? The E activity and stood on the there, he formed a singing group most honest answer W verge of profound change. that was good enough to per- to that question is both some- H Long a center of manufac- form on special release outside where and nowhere. The origins turing and transportation, of the prison. Berry was given of any cultural phenomenon involve the city drew immi-grants his freedom in 1947, returned many intersecting influences coming from Europe and African- to St. Louis, and began to together, often coincidentally. This American migrants from the put his life in order. He mar- notion holds true for music, where American South from its very ried Thelmetta “Toddy” influences play off of each other, beginning. Relations between Suggs in 1948. He worked taking the art form in new and often these communities alternated in an automobile plant, as unexpected directions. between peaceful a janitor, and trained as a Just such a melding of coincidence This iconic coexistence and hairdresser. He and his and intention happened at a club in portrait of violent confronta- wife were doing well East St. Louis on New Year’s Eve in Charles Edward tion, the latter being enough to buy a house at 3137 Whittier 1953. What came together that night Anderson typified by the St. in Greater Ville, the middle class, when Chuck Berry played at the Club “Chuck” Berry 1917 race riots. predominantly black St. Louis neighbor- Cosmopolitan for the first time would dates to 1958. The demographics hood where Berry grew up. resonate through the history of music of East St. Louis were changing in the While he was establishing himself, 1950s as more than 10,000 white resi- music remained a powerful force in his dents left the city. As a result, the city’s life. Having played the blues since his white and African-American populations teenage years, he was influenced by were roughly equal for a time. the music and playing style of T-Bone While the white and black com- Walker, a pioneering musician in munities in East St. Louis often lived “jump” and electric blues. He started separate lives in the same place, one sitting in on gigs for extra money, space where they often came together honing his guitar style and his ebullient was in the city’s night spots. The bars, showmanship. It was a chance to do clubs, and concert venues that made exactly this that would lead Berry to the city an entertainment destination ultimately change American music. for the area often played host to an integrated crowd. One such venue was t all began with a phone call on the Club Cosmopolitan, located in a New Year’s Eve in 1953. Johnnie St. Louis Argus 1954 advertise- former grocery store at 1644 Bond Ave. IJohnson, a talented jazz and blues ment for Johnny Johnson and Trio-- Owned by East St. Louis policeman pianist, had a problem. His band, Sir ”featuring Chuck Berry and his Joe Lewis, the club cultivated a more John’s Trio, was booked to play at the guitar”--appearing at Club upscale image than many of the night Club Cosmopolitan in East St. Louis. Cosmopolitan in East St. Louis. spots in the city. It was at “the Cosmo” Alvin Bennett, the saxophone player, The Argus is an African-American where the stage would be set for Chuck had suffered a stroke earlier in the day weekly newspaper. Berry to make music history in 1953. and Johnson needed a replacement. By that year, Charles Edward Johnson knew Berry wasn’t a saxophone I LLINOIS H ERITAGE 25 Cosmo, Berry became inter- ested in going into the studio to record. Johnson and the band were more inter- ested in their live shows, but didn’t object to Berry pursuing record- ing their music. Not finding a suitable studio in St. Louis, Berry convinced Johnson and drummer Ebby Hardy to pack up their gear and head to Chicago in May of 1955. Following on a chance meeting Chuck Berry holding forth at the Club Cosmo in 1954 Chuck Berry performing at the with blues legend Club Cosmopolitan in 1954. These Muddy Waters, the band went to a politan, which was abandoned at the photographs appear in Bruce Pegg’s small recording studio then located at time. The building was demolished in 2002 autobiography, Brown Eyed 4750 S. Cottage Grove Ave. in Chicago. the 1990s, leaving no physical memory Handsome Man: The Life and There, brothers Phil and Leonard of the momentous happenings there. Hard Times of Chuck Berry. Chess first heard what the eager Today, 1644 Bond Ave, is a vacant player (at that point, he was a passable crowds at the Cosmo had been hearing lot, bearing silent witness to the inter- guitarist), but because Berry was inex- for over a year. One of the songs they sections that changed American music perienced, it was likely he would not be recorded at Chess Records on May 21, in the twentieth century. It seems that booked to play on New Year’s Eve. Berry 1955 had debuted at the Cosmo. It this site should not be silent, keeping agreed to play and made the trip on the was Berry’s reworking of a 1938 cover its amazing story to itself. It seems Eads Bridge to the Illinois side of the of the song “Ida Red” by Bob Wills and only right that this Illinois place should Mississippi River. the Texas Playboys. With some lyrics bear witness to its role in our musical He was a welcome addition to the changes and new title, the song heritage. Commemoration is the band, bringing vocal talents, showman- became “Maybellene,” a song that responsibility of the living. How will ship, and some new sounds that he would help to propel Berry to stardom. we remember the place where Chuck had been working on. Bennett wasn’t As the years passed, the memory Berry rocked and rolled and changed able to return, so Johnson asked Berry of those early gigs at the Cosmo began our culture? to join the band permanently. The to fade. They were revived briefly for band was very interested in Berry’s the filming of Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll!, William P. Shannon IV has served blending of blues phrasing and the a documentary chronicling two concerts as the Curator of the St. Clair County diction and singing style of “hillbilly” celebrating Berry’s 60th birthday in Historical Society since 2012. He has music, a popular genre at the time. 1986. Released in 1987, the film served on the ISHS Advisory Board since The other band members weren’t features scenes at the Club Cosmo - 2018. He lives in Belleville. the only ones to notice. Word began to spread of, as Berry described it, “that crazy black hillbilly at the Cosmo.” For further reading: People, both black and white, flocked to Chuck Berry: The Autobiography (Fireside, 1987) Bond Avenue to hear music that was Christgau, Robert, “Chuck Berry,” in The Rolling Stone Illustrated both familiar and different at the same History of Rock and Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists time. This led to a steady booking at the and Their Music (Random House, 1988) Cosmo for the band and growing buzz Collis, John. Chuck Berry: The Biography (Aurum Press, 2002) surrounding this irresistible new sound. Pegg, Bruce. Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life and Hard Times of Throughout 1954 and into 1955, Chuck Berry (Routledge, 2002) as Berry and Johnson held forth at the 26 I LLINOIS H ERITAGE