From the S&S archives:
Living legend Chuck Berry plays Tokyo

They were out in force in Tokyo, the mods, the rockers and the conservatives, in jeans, slacks and business suits, to hear a man whose music has spanned four generations.

Chuck Berry had the crowd on its feet from the opening licks of "School Days" to the last note of "Memphis."

According to rock historians, Berry's combination sound of country, gospel and rock may have been the single most important contribution to rock 'n roll music. Groups like the Beach Boys, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones have used his style and lyrics in their own climb to fame.

THE MISSOURI-BORN Berry's first hit, according to the record books, was "Roll Over Beethoven" in 1956. The song was later re-recorded by the Beatles and became one of their first million-sellers that they did not write themselves.

In the crowd of clapping and foot-stomping Japanese, a young girl's jacket stated proudly that she was a member of the Rockabilly Club. It also gave her birth date June 24, 1958. Two years after Berry first hit the charts.

The time gap mattered not at all. Berry was doing his thing and she was digging it.

When Berry broke for a few seconds and asked the crowd what they wanted to hear, the overwhelming answer was "Johnny B. Goode."

"If that's what you want ..." Berry answered. He strummed the opening notes and began to duck walk. For those in the back of the auditorium, that was about the last glimpse of Berry they would have. The ushers gave up trying to get the crowd up front to sit down again.

DURING HIS 25-YEAR career, the 55-year-old Berry has had 22 chart singles and released at least 21 albums. Strangely enough with all of his standards — "Maybelline," "Nadine," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Memphis" — Berry's first number one record was "My Ding-A-Ling" in 1972. The song that topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic then had been in his repertoire since the beginning.

About mid-way through his show, Berry introduced his daughter, Ingrid, to the audience. And while she pleasingly belted out "This House Just Ain't No Home" and a few others backed by Berry's bluesy guitar. The crowd wasn't too receptive.

They had come to hear and see Berry and there was to be no substitution.

Berry ended his show with "Memphis," a song he recorded early in his career but wasn't released as a single until 1964. This record and its success came shortly after Berry's release from prison where he had served two years for violating the Mann Act in 1959. It also marked his reemergence on the music scene and was followed by three more successive hits.

For about ten minutes after Berry closed his show, the crowd stood in place and shouted "Encore!" But Berry did not reappear. For those who wanted to see him again, it would have to be another night and another place.