Customer Reviews

Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life and Hard Times of Chuck Berry

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As a long time fan of Chuck Berry, I have tried to read everything I could find about him, from enclyclopedia's to Rolling Stone Magazine. Over the past 20 years, I have tried to piece together the various differing messages about him, from musical genius to "difficult to work with" entertainer. This book puts it all together in an extremely well written and well documented manner. Pegg ties together all of the pieces with a lot of information and insight otherwise unknown, with interviews of principle persons in Chuck's musical and professional life. He is obviously a fan of Chuck's, but the book is very honest with the facts and never sensational.

If you are a fan of Chuck Berry, please do yourself a favor and get this book. You will not be able to stop reading it! I think it also would be helpful for anyone interested in the social/historical milieu of this time period in relationship to black entertainers in general as well.

I've been reading this book for the last few months (it's been my reading material on the train on the weekends hehe) and it's been an enertaining read of the life and hard times of Chuck Berry.
Previous to reading this book, I had only heard Chuck Berry's music and loved it, but did not know much about the man himself.
Bruce Pegg has done a good job of detailing Chuck's life, from the early days in The Ville, his begginings in music, Racism in the USA in the 50's, Chuck's relationship with Chess Records, concerts, all his court appearances (the Mann Act Trial, the Southern Aire Restuarant Video Tape Scandal (which I first heard about on E! News!) plus much more.
There are some great photos in the book which i'm not sure have been seen before.
Pegg also has also rounded up all the important people in Chuck's life and they all give interesting comments.
I haven't read Chuck Berry's offical Autobiography, but upon reading this, i'm sure this gives a much better view into his life.

Great Book. Very informative. A thorough body of research was completed in order to have this book published. I thought I knew all about Chuck Berry until I read this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Chuck's. The book is balanced and pulls no punches. No wonder the biography is unauthorized. It contains information that is both provoctive and endearing.

What a read! I first sought this book out after reading elsewhere about Chuck Berry throwing Keith Richards off stage at a peformance where Keith was sitting in. This book was the cited reference for the incident. Intrigued, I sought out and bought this book. I knew very little about Chuck Berry, the man, previous to reading it. While his career was sadly similar to many old rock stars and especially the Black blues artists, the rise, the self destruction, the inevitable fall, the ever present cheats, the too frequent double crosses, and the tragedy of it all, it still was all original enough to hold my interest. The way that law enforcement went out of its way to destroy the man was disturbing. While Berry certainly didn't help his case at times with his desires for pretty young women, it's a very uneasy contrast with the way Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley got more of a pass for similar actions. Well written and an easy read, if you are interested in Chuck Berry, Rock History, or just good Rock and Roll stories, by all means, buy this book!

EDIT UPDATE: Either before or after reading this book watch the film Cadillac Records. While I can't say it's 100% factual I think it captures the way of life of the times. It shows the way things were done including everything I mentioned above that was in this book.

Bruce Pegg's book is what a biography should be: well researched, beautifully written, encompassing the subject and the cultural and historical background, and a story that speaks to our times today as much as the past. I have seen Chuck many times, here in St. Louis, I have met him, been impressed by his contributions to music and his influence on many rock and roll stars. I know of the places Pegg mentions in his book. Now that I have read it (just last week) Chuck Berry becomes an even more imposing, three-dimensional force, as well as a genuine human being whose art will always outshine and outlast any imperfections he has. Like so many creative giants, his work is what he is all about. Thanks to Bruce Pegg for this extraordinary book. He obviously put a lot of work and thought into it, and it comes through smoothly. He even explains how some of Chuck's songs are constructed, how the lyrics and the licks and the musicians all came together. I had read Chuck's autobiography, which I enjoyed immensely, especially his writing, his rhythms, his attitudes and perspectives. Pegg completes the picture. If you have any interest in American music, in rock and roll, in cultural and social changes in our country over the last 60 years, boogie on down to the bookstore, the library or log on to Amazon and start reading.

I found this an interesting bio of the great Chuck Berry, but it is overly focused on the trials rather than the tribulations. Page after page of court testimony made this book less enlightning on Chuck's complete life & times and more on his run ins with the laws of the times. These are legitimate items for a bio but more on his music and its inspirations and influences would have rounded out the book more. Important reading for a Chuck fan but left me with the need to read more to get the full picture.