Or pretending to anyway. Here he is with a Roundup, interesting because I've never seen him with a Gretsch. He preferred Gibsons: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

"Flyin' with my baby last Saturday night, Not a gray cloud floatin' in sight, Big full moon shinin' up above, Cuddle up honey, be my love, Sweetest little thing I've ever seen, I'm gonna name you Maybellene! "

And he kisses his Sweet little Lovely GreTscH on the neck!

thats something id never thought i would see. cool stuff

it seems that he was using it more for a "prop" instead of actually playing it. I've heard that when he goes on tour, he has someone arrange to have the guitars at the venue.

it seems that he was using it more for a "prop" instead of actually playing it. I've heard that when he goes on tour, he has someone arrange to have the guitars at the venue.

Yeah I think that the Gretsch was just a prop! But very good to see!

It was usual in those days that performers had to lip-sync when they performed on TV. Chuck Berry was just going along with what he had to do. It was totally cool how Buddy Holly, The Beatles, and others, were allowed to perform live on The Ed Sullivan Show, but that was somewhat rare then. Performers usually had to lip-sync to the Officially released version. There's lots of examples of that on YouTube.

For Example: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

( But I think it's really creepy how, in the Del Shannon example above, that the mood of the show and Del Shannon's geeky smile, are totally contrary to the Real Meaning and Message of that Incredible Song, 'Runaway'! )

Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

I think it's cool that Chuck Berry took advantage of the situation to do things like kiss the guitar, which would have been more difficult if he was actually singing and playing. I've seen Eddie Cochran do similar stuff on those old clips where he had to go through the motions of the previously recorded version.

But one has to wonder if the GreTscH Chuck Berry is using in the video is the guitar the song was recorded with! - It seems quite possibly not to be. And with Del Shannon's guitar too, of course.

I don't think Chuck recorded it with a Gretsch. I've never read anything on him using a Gretsch. I thought pretty much Bo Diddley was the big R&B/rock player that used a Gretsch. I thought Chuck used an ES-350T in the early part of his career, then used the ES-335's and 355's. Come to think of it, there was only a handfull of rock & roll/rockabilly pioneers that used Gretsches.

With Eddie Cochran and Duane using Gretsches (and Chester playing his in the studio with the Everlys),we were pretty well squared away for Gretsch-slingers back in the day.They weren't many but they were mighty.

Very True! - DaveH, Very True!

Eddie was only 21 and a half years old when he left us.

It's always intriguing to wonder: What if he lived much longer?

"Here come ol' flat-top..."

Day-um! Chuck was a poet! If I get famous, I'm changing my name to Flight DeVille!

With Eddie Cochran and Duane using Gretsches (and Chester playing his in the studio with the Everlys),we were pretty well squared away for Gretsch-slingers back in the day.They weren't many but they were mighty.:D

dont forget Cliff Gallup!!! hes gotta be my favorite from back then

Cool! - Check out this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

The clip of Chuck with the Roundup is from the movie "Rock, Rock, Rock" and that guitar is a movie prop for sure. (Real guitar, but provided for the shoot).

As Stingker pointed out, it was the norm on 50s TV, and (as in this case) the movies, for artists to lip sync to the hit records, and also was the norm to use whatever instruments that the studio provided if the artists didn't bring their own instruments to the shoot.

In "Go, Johnny Go!" Ritchie Valens "plays" a 6120 (instead of his H44 Stratotone) as he lip syncs to "Ooh! My Head". A lot of people erroneously claim that it's Eddie's 6120 that Ritchie is playing, but of course one look at the pickups tells you that that's not true. Ritchie is playing a stock 6120.

Ritchie Valens

Elvis played his Martin D-18 and D-28 in the 50s with Scotty and Bill, but in his movies he plays whatever guitar the studio provided. Mainly Gibsons and Harmonys, and the same guitars show up in several movies.

In "Untamed Youth" the Martin D-18 that Eddie Cochran is playing is the same Martin that belonged to Eddie's brother Bill and is the same Martin used on Eddie's biggest hit records. He almost lost the guitar to the studio though. After filming was done the guitar went missing and it turned up in the studio's prop department.

And talking of lip sync (and 'guitar sync') performances here's a doozy from Gene Vincent on Bandstand:

Gene Vincent

Thanks for the info and the elucidation, NitroG! - and the YouTube links.

Unfortunately the Gene Vincent Bandstand clip is blocked in the U.S.A. "on copyright grounds."

I would have really liked to have heard Chuck actually playing a Gretsch. Gretsch had and still has a very esoteric following of players, and some of the best of all time. Why it didn't make more of an impact is a mystery to me.

Fred III, thank you so much for giving it back to us.

Eddie Cochran was just gettin' started!

I don't know of much definitive info on exactly what Chuck was playing pre-1957. If anyone has a good source, I'd appreciate a link!

I like that GreTscH has a particularly self-selecting following among professional players and hobbyists alike. Maintains their distinctiveness. I'm not opposed to GreTscH growing, but I don't regret the niche market loyalism of a smaller community of devotees.

Here's an early shot of Chuck with a Kay.

...and a quote from the Rockabilly Hall of Fame site:

*Berry's first guitar was a Kay electric guitar that was sold to him for $30 by Joe Sherman, an R&B performer in St. Louis. Chuck is pictured with an Epiphone archtop electric in early Chess publicity photos, but he claims that he never recorded with that guitar. Prior to his first recording session for Chess, Chuck purchased a blonde Gibson ES-350T archtop electric with two P-90 single-coil pickups from Ludwig's Music in St. Louis. This is the guitar that Berry is seen with in most of his early promotional photos, and it is also the guitar that he used on most of his legendary mid-'50s recordings. Sometime around 1957, he purchased a similar ES-350T, but this guitar was equipped with two humbucking pickups instead of the single-coils. Berry recollects that this guitar was used on most of the hits that he recorded during the late '50s. He later gave this guitar to his friend, Joe Edwards, and it is now on display at Edwards' restaurant, Blueberry Hill, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Although Berry is seen performing with a Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 in the movie Rock, Rock, Rock, he admits that the guitar was just a prop. He did own a hollowbody Gretsch for a while, but he has expressed a dislike for the guitar's heavier weight compared to his Gibsons. Apparently, he did not use it for live performance or for any significant recordings.*

http://www.rockabillyhall.c...

Edit: Notice the misinformation on the type of Gretsch Chuck 'played' in "Rock, Rock, Rock"

Call me a heretic, but nothing wrong with a 350 with P90s:

Looks yummy to me!

Nothing indeed is wrong with any Gibson with P90s, I just would have liked to hear what it would sound like with Chuck playing a Gretsch, especially one with Dynas.

thanks Nitro!

I would bet you that is an Epiphone headstock in that picture - although that certainly doesn't mean he didn't play a Kay.

1945 Epi Century

Oops...you're quite right Spike. That is most definitely an Epiphone Century in Chuck's hands.