[macrojack]

--has ever captured the chuck Berry spirit of rock and roll like the Hollies did with "Long, Cool Woman in a Black Dress". Agree? Disagree? Have a better example? Let's hear it.

[EthanH]

I never heard of the Hollies before reading this post, so I have no real opinion.  However, after listening to the song I have to say the first thing it reminded me of is T. Rex.  It's pretty good.   

[Wind Chaser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP94PlEtsEQ

My sister exposed me to Chuck Berry when I was a kid, but at 5 years of age, I couldn't grasp what was the big deal with rock and roll.  Probably because I didn't care for "rockabilly" and the sound of Chuck's voice.  OTOH certain songs by the Hollies were easy to connect with the first time.  Overall, I'd say the British have contributed more to rock and roll than the Americans.

[thunderbrick]

Always liked The Hollies and the other British groups.

Chuck Berry still performs in St Louis from time-to-time in a small venue.  Saw him there about seven years ago.  Good show but not necessarily to my tastes.

[jsaliga]

--has ever captured the chuck Berry spirit of rock and roll like the Hollies did with "Long, Cool Woman in a Black Dress". Agree? Disagree? Have a better example? Let's hear it.

As I recall Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) was Alan Clarke's way of showing his critics that British rock groups could write and perform music in the vein of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  It was pretty much a one-off oddity for The Hollies and they never did anything remotely like it again.  When I hear the song I think of John Fogerty, not Chuck Berry.  I think Clarke proved his point.  If anything, the reason that British bands of that era didn't do a lot of roots rock is because they chose to pursue other musical goals.  It wasn't because they were incapable of doing rootsy rock and roll.

--Jerome

[jsaliga]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP94PlEtsEQ
Overall, I'd say the British have contributed more to rock and roll than the Americans.

Perhaps.  But that all depends on what you mean by Rock and Roll, as opposed to rock music.  To some people they are not the same and many would argue that rock and roll, like jazz, is a uniquely American music.  If, on the other hand, you don't believe there is any distinction between the two then you may have a point.

--Jerome

[Wind Chaser]

that all depends on what you mean by Rock and Roll, as opposed to rock music.  To some people they are not the same...  If, on the other hand, you don't believe there is any distinction between the two then you may have a point.

What is the difference between the two?  I always though "rock" was just short for "rock and roll". 

[ltr317]

--has ever captured the chuck Berry spirit of rock and roll like the Hollies did with "Long, Cool Woman in a Black Dress". Agree? Disagree? Have a better example? Let's hear it.

As I recall Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) was Alan Clarke's way of showing his critics that British rock groups could write and perform music in the vein of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  It was pretty much a one-off oddity for The Hollies and they never did anything remotely like it again.  When I hear the song I think of John Fogerty, not Chuck Berry.  I think Clarke proved his point.  If anything, the reason that British bands of that era didn't do a lot of roots rock is because they chose to pursue other musical goals.  It wasn't because they were incapable of doing rootsy rock and roll.

--Jerome

I agree with Jerome.  When I first heard the song in the early 1970's on FM, I thought it was a Creedence Clearwater song until the radio announcer said it was by the Hollies (long after Graham Nash left the group).   

As an aside, the Hollies were one of my favorite "British Invasion" groups and had harmonies as good or better than the Beatles. 

[lonewolfny42]

Right...Just like CCR.... 

Listen....   

[lonewolfny42]

"Green River" - CCR....

Listen....

[jsaliga]

What is the difference between the two?  I always though "rock" was just short for "rock and roll".

There is a school of thought that links "rock and roll" as a subgenre of rock to the root structure of the music: characteristically employing three-chords and strong backbeat that evolved from the blues.  When I think of Rock and Roll I think of the roots of the form and artists such as Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Bo Diddley.  So we are talking primarily about the 1950s through the early 1960s.  I don't think there was anyone in Britain pioneering this sort of music at that time.  A lot of artists from the British invasion were certainly influenced by these rock and roll pioneers, particularly through about 1966.  I'm not a scholar on what was happening in British popular music in the early 1960s, but there was certainly a heavy R&B and roots influence at that time.  Listen to early Who records and The Small Faces for examples of British R&B.  Of course, all bets were off by the time Psychedelic rock built up a full head of steam in both the US and Britain by 1967.  Up until that time, much of rock music was still heavily influenced by forms that were developed and poineered in America.  Some consider the term rock to be more broad and inclusive.  Rock could be referring to The Ramones, Sonic Youth, Led Zeppelin, or The Human League.

--Jerome

[bunnyma357]

--has ever captured the chuck Berry spirit of rock and roll like the Hollies did with "Long, Cool Woman in a Black Dress". Agree? Disagree? Have a better example? Let's hear it.

Of British bands, I really think the Rolling Stones captured the spirit of Chuck Berry the best, both with covers such as "Come On" "Around and Around" "Bye Bye Johnny" "Carol" "Let It Rock" and many others. Plus Berry's influence can be heard in a lot of their original songs. They perform the songs with a looseness and exuberance that seemed to escape a lot of the other British bands.  To see Berry and Keith Richards working together, check out the film "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll"

Other British bands that I think captured that spirit with varying degrees of success would be The Pirates, Dave Edmunds/Rockpile & The Beatles.

My favorite British band doing a Chuck Berry inspired song would be Eddie & the Hot Rods cover of Bob Seger's "Get Out of Denver", which is a Chuck Berry knock off.

http://www.rateitall.com/i-995450-get-out-of-denver-eddie-the-hot-rods.aspx


Jim C