Look at those power toms!
While updating my bio recently, I decided to include new hyperlinks (see below). While doing that, I searched for footage of my first big gig in New York City. I had the opportunity to play with the legendary Chuck Berry at Tramps in 1994.
I remember the gig like it was yesterday. The memory was etched into my brain cells - most likely because the show's first few minutes were traumatic. When you have a musical icon looking at you disdainfully, demanding you play in his tempo, you tend not to forget it.
After finishing my college years at Howard University, I decided to stay in the Washington D.C. area. I played gigs with blues and rock bands in town and back home in Connecticut. While sitting in at jam sessions, I met a fantastic pianist named Daryl Davis. He took me under his wing and introduced me to the world of the blues and early rock and roll. I played with his band in the D.C. area and other places along the east coast during my post-college/pre-NYC years.
I learned a lot about the touring life, how to play the blues, and who the blues legends were. I also learned about Daryl's experience learning from Johnny Johnson and being the musical director for Chuck Berry. After several gigs, Daryl asked me to play drums for Mr. Berry. I was thrilled but had no idea what to expect.
I had yet to see the 1987 documentary called Hail Hail Rock and Roll about the man. I wish I had. I would have understood better who I was about to work with. If Chuck could act this way with Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones, Lord knows he would have little respect for Clayton Craddock from Manchester, CT.
"That's the way Chuck Berry plays it."
Got it!
'The way Chuck Berry plays it' is how it will be, whether it sounds good or not. Whether it's in the right tempo or not. Whether it's in the right key or not.
Look…you can't deny what he did for American music.
Chuck Berry is widely recognized as one of the most influential early rock and roll artists who played a significant role in the evolution of this music genre. He was the first black rock and roll artist to have a national hit, an accomplishment in a time of racial segregation.
Berry's musical journey began when he sang in a church choir at six and started learning guitar as a teenager, taught by the local jazz legend Ira Harris. After serving three years in jail for robbery, he picked up the guitar again in 1951 and joined a former classmate's band before joining the St. John's trio in 1952. Berry recorded "Maybellene," which became an instant hit. In 1955, blues musician Muddy Waters encouraged him to seek a record contract at Chess Records.
While black artists such as Chuck Berry paved the way for rock and roll, they were not fully recognized until white artists popularized the music. Berry's music quickly gained popularity among white teenagers as he blended R&B sounds with lyrics that carried universal themes of youth. His songs, such as "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man," contributed to the emergence of this new genre of music. He topped the pop charts with hits like "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Carol," and "Johnny B. Good," which were enjoyed by people of all demographics and musical preferences. As a result, he was dubbed the "Father of Rock and Roll."
Nonetheless, Chuck Berry's contribution to the genre's development is undeniable. While the origins of rock and roll are not straightforward, Berry's writing laid the foundation. Finally, in 1972, Berry hit number one with "My Ding A Ling."
When I was asked to perform with Chuck Berry, I was in my first year as a resident of New York City. I was excited to perform anywhere at the time and was ecstatic to play at a venue called Tramps - a place that has long bit the dust. Tramps was a spot where lots of great musicians played. Over the years, I saw some of my favorite bands perform there: Rick James, Cameo, and Fishbone were some of my more memorable shows. Performing with Chuck Berry at this venue was something worth noting.
It was my biggest gig to date. I was young, excited, and happy to be asked to work with a living legend. Well, some of that excitement showed with the pace of the first tune we played. The tempo I eventually settled into was clearly too fast for Chuck. You can see Mr. Berry lean over to Daryl after the first song and tell him I shouldn’t rush. Daryl yelled out to me not to push the tempo. It made sense. Sometimes, the excitement of a show can cause inexperienced drummers to play on top of the beat.
The second tune started, and it sounded like me, the bass player, and Daryl were together, but Chuck wasn't with us. The way he turned around on that stage was terrifying. Chuck gave me the evil eye. The stare of doom. It seemed like he was saying through his eyes, "Motherfu&er, if you don't play with me, the LEGENDARY CHUCK BERRY, I'm 'bout to kick your young black a$$ off the stage and play the rest of the show without a drummer you little punk!"
I remember it very, very well.
We eventually got it together after about 32 bars, but I was on edge for the rest of the show, and it's so funny to see and hear it again after all these years. I feel vindicated because correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like I wasn't the one who was wrong here musically.
I survived and worked with Chuck again at an outdoor festival somewhere. I even got to play with him for a week in Atlantic City at a casino.
One other distinct memory was my paycheck.
I made $90 for every date I worked with the man over that period. Awwwww yeah! He earned $35,000 CASH.
It was 1994, I was young, I didn't know any better, and that might have been the union rate at the time for club dates. Chuck used to use only local union musicians and probably paid scale. We never rehearsed; you just had to know the Chuck Berry catalog. I assume he thought union musicians were better than non-union ones. That may have been true in 1955, but it wasn't in 1994 or even today.
And yeah, Chuck Berry SHOULD have been making that kind of money for each gig. Why is it that in 2023, musicians are still receiving similar rates to play in NYC? According to my inflation calculator app, a $90 gig in 1994 should be paying at least $184.32. So, if you are considering accepting a gig with a living legend of Rock and Roll, ask for at least $250…CASH - every show, you know what I'm sayin'?! And that's with no rehearsal.
Come to think of it, I wasn't even a member of local 802 back then. That may be why I made the near-fatal mistake of setting a steady tempo that was not aligned with Mr. Berry's.
I post this because I have talked to many musicians on my podcast about following a conductor in a Broadway pit, how to take notes, and what your role is in an orchestra. The same lessons apply there as they do here on a big stage. I learned the hard way that when you are right, you may be wrong in the eyes and ears of the bandleader.
Do you want to be right and argue, or be happy? This is a lesson I must remind myself of when I'm in a pit, in a band outside of a show, or talking to people about political and cultural issues.
Am I hearing things, or should I feel good about how I started out the second tune? Let me know what you think.
Clayton Craddock hosts the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast and has held the drum chair in several hit broadway and off-broadway musicals, including Tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill and Ain’t Too Proud. He has been a sub drummer on Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Spongebob Squarepants-The Musical, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, and The Big Apple Circus. The next project he’s working on is The Hippest Trip – The Soul Train Musical.
Clayton has performed on various TV shows, including Good Morning America, The Colbert Report, The View, The Jimmy Fallon Show, The CBS Early Show, the Today Show, and the 2010 and 2019 TONY Awards at Radio City. He’s shared the stage with legends such as The Stylistics, Denise Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King and was in the Netflix DWYCK episode of Luke Cage with the Delfonics and the HBO version of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
Clayton is a proud endorser of Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.
Broadway Drumming 101 YouTube HERE! YouTube