Chuck Berry Show Cut Short For Medical Reasons (A Top Story)

On Monday Chuck Berry Show Cut Short For Medical Reasons was a top story.

Here is the recap: There were various reports on Sunday that rock legend Chuck Berry collapsed on stage in Chicago on Saturday night. antiMusic's Anthony Kuzminski was at the show and tells a different tale.

In his review of the show, Tony writes: "Despite reports from various media sources, I can without question say that when Berry sat behind that keyboard, his hands came alive the same way as they do when he is grasping a guitar." Later in the show, "After a dispirited 'Reelin' and Rockin'', Berry once again banished the keyboard player to the side and sat behind the keys. This is where reports are appearing to vary. From my viewpoint, at no point did I see him collapse. He may have been ill but to my eyes he seemed dispirited and broken."

"...After sitting behind the keyboard, a number of personnel came to the stage, surrounded him and whisked him away. The crowd was appreciative and applauded and then announcement came that the bars would remain open and that DJ's would provide music for the rest of the evening. Then 10-minutes later, Berry reemerged from the backstage, slid his guitar on and made his way to the front of the stage. He struggled with getting his guitar in tune (something that had been an issue most of the evening) and after a few minutes, he was whisked away once again.

An announcement was made to stick around for 15-minutes as Chuck Berry would be checked by a doctor backstage. The crowd cheerfully waited and 15-minutes later, Berry emerged for the final time without an instrument in tow.

He came out to apologize to the crowd and explained he had been backstage being checked on by doctors. He wished the crowd a good evening and then proceeded to do his infamous 'duck walk' and like that, he was gone." - Read Tony's full review

[Edited 1/8/11 13:35pm]

Well, one person saying he didn't collapse doesn't necessarily ring as truth. Doesn't matter either way, really - just sounds kind of sad. I wonder if his brain is going, or his ability to make his hands do what he wants, or maybe he had a stroke? I know a lot of these guys want to play until they die, and I certainly respect that. But sometimes it's really hard to watch their deterioration. Just kinda sad.