"Sock It to Me"

[Laurence Horn]

>On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 22:00:56 -0400, Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM> wrote:
>
>>What I go by is what I think when I first hear a record by a person. I
>>blush to admit it, but when I first heard Chuck Berry, I thought that
>>he was some white, rock-a-billy stud, an amazing error, considering
>>that Chuck and I both grew up in St. Louis, we both lived there at the
>>beginning of his career, and he still maintains a home there.
>
>Considering that his first hit, "Maybellene", was a rewrite of the old
>hillbilly tune "Ida Red" (recorded by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
>inter alia), I wouldn't be surprised if he was at first hard to categorize
>for many listeners.
>
>So are there any noticeable St. Louis-isms in Chuck Berry's songs?  I've
>always wondered if, say, "gunny sack" ("Johnny B. Goode")

Of course, as we now know, the music and lyrics for "Johnny B. Goode"
came to Chuck Berry over the phone from renowned chrononaut Marty
McFly (via Chuck's cousin Marvin Berry), and hence "gunny sack" must
be assumed to be a 1985 Hill Valley Californianism.  Of course Marty
himself did get the lyrics from the old Chuck Berrry song, but then
again...  [Arrgggh, there goes the ol' space-time continuum!!!]

L

>, "juke joint"
>("School Days"), "wiggles like a glow worm" ("Roll Over Beethoven"), or
>"blowin' like a hurrican" ("Rock and Roll Music") were hallmarks of AAVE
>in the St. Louis region.
>
>
>
>--Ben Zimmer