Trailer for 'Chuck Berry; The Original King of Rock 'N' Roll' Documentary Released
Along with Gary Clark Jr., Keith Richards and Nils Lofgren, the film features the first-ever interview with Berry's widow, Themetta “Toddy” Suggs.
The trailer for Chuck Berry; The Original King of Rock 'N' Roll, the first official Chuck Berry documentary, has been released. You can check it out below.
Available now on video-on-demand platforms – and on DVD and Blu-ray on November 27 – the film was directed by Jon Brewer, whose other credits include documentaries on B.B. King, Mick Ronson, Alice Cooper, Nat King Cole, Jimi Hendrix and more.
The trailer for the documentary features the first-ever interview with Berry's widow, Themetta “Toddy” Suggs, plus appearances from Cooper, Keith Richards, Nils Lofgren, Steve Van Zandt, Gary Clark Jr. and more.
"I got through to the family and talked to his widow, who was very charming,” Brewer told Below The Line. “She had never done an interview before because [Berry] wouldn’t let her do it. Then, we built the story. When a man is dead, you have to create the story and find it within actions he has done and did.
“He created the teenager. If you think back on it, it was cars and soda parlors and hanging out in what was then the ‘hood. It was always these wonderful stories that he told. That went down very well – a lot of kids related to his lyrics."
Chuck Berry; The Original King of Rock 'N' Roll is available now on Amazon, Availtin, Cool Nerd Kiosk, Direct TV, Dish, Doc N Roll, Fandango, Google Play, inDemand, iTunes, Sling TV, Tubi, Vimeo, Vudu and Xbox.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
“He said to me very politely, 'Can I get onstage with you and use your guitar?' ” Ritchie Blackmore recalls when Deep Purple jammed with George Harrison — and how he marveled at the size of his feet
John Petrucci: “Making a new record is an opportunity to say, 'What haven't I done before?'” Hear Dream Theater's first new music with Mike Portnoy in 15 years and learn details of their upcoming album