Chuck Berry Quotes

“A contract is an ask game, and if it asks for an hour, and I submit to an hour, then it's an hour. When I look at a contract, I look at the obligation – where, when, how long, the compensation. If I agree to it, that's the way it is. I have an obligation. They have an obligation.”

“Charlie Christian played amplified guitar with Benny Goodman's quartet. He was the greatest guitar player that ever was. But he never looked up from the guitar. But I put a little dance to it. They appreciate seein' something along with hearin' something.”

“Chuck Berry doesn't give interviews.”

“Don't let the same dog bite you twice.”

“Everything I wrote about wasn't about me, but about the people listening.”

“Had I been pushed like Colonel Parker pushed Elvis, had I been a white boy like Elvis, sure, it would have been different.”

“I added and deleted according to the audiences' response to different gestures, and chose songs to build an act that would constantly stimulate my audience.”

“I always want to play the songs that people want to hear.”

“I didn't connect with the kids. I was in the studio. I never saw the kids. I hoped they liked it, of course. And then I'd go write some more. And then I'd go buy me a home. Very American.”

“I don't want the bottom, so I have to sacrifice the top.”

“I eat meat daily. I'm not Jewish. I'm not Arabic. What's the kind of person that doesn't eat meat? That's right – I'm not a vegetarian.”

“I grew up thinking art was pictures until I got into music and found I was an artist and didn't paint.”

“I love poetry. I love rhyming. Do you know, there are poets who don't rhyme? Shakespeare did not rhyme most of the time, and that's why I do not like him.”

“I made records for people who would buy them. No color, no ethnic, no political – I don't want that, never did.”

“I should have been a son of Einstein.”

“I think my interviews were much better than what some of the writers wrote. I just wanted the truth out.”

“I used to work at Kroger's. When the store opened, you were there. When I worked in an automobile plant, you punched in. So it showed if you were a minute late. If you have a paid job, you show up.”

“I wanted to play blues. But I wasn't blue enough. I wasn't like Muddy Waters, people who really had it hard. In our house, we had food on the table. We were doing well compared to many. So I concentrated on this fun and frolic, these novelties.”

“I would sing the blues if I had the blues.”

“I'm thankful for each and every day. We never know when time is up.”

“I'm thankful for performing as long as I am allowed.”

“I've written songs on everything. Menus. Napkins. Little pieces of paper.”

“If the people in the audience are talking, you're being ignored. If the people are gazing at you, you've got something they want to hear.”

“If you want to release your aggression, get up and dance. That's what rock and roll is all about.”

“If you're going to be mad, at least let the people know what you're mad about.”

“In a Toyota, the cops don't think about stopping you so much.”

“In a way, I feel it might be ill-mannered to try and top myself. The music I play is a ritual. Something that matters to people in a special way. I wouldn't want to interfere with that.”

“In the Fifties, there were certain places we couldn't ride on the bus, and now there is a possibility of a black man being in the White House. You have to feel good about it.”

“It amazes me when I hear people say, 'I want to go out and find out who I am.' I always knew who I was. I was going to be famous if it killed me.”

“It's amazing how much you can learn if your intentions are truly earnest.”