Ennyman's Territory: Blast from the Past: Chuck Berry at The Cavern Club

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Blast from the Past: Chuck Berry at The Cavern Club

This Day In History
Chuck Berry’s one and only performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool on February 27, 1967, is a notable moment in rock history, though details are sparse due to the era’s limited documentation. The Cavern, a cramped, sweaty basement venue on Mathew Street, was already legendary by ’67, thanks to the Beatles’ early gigs there. Berry, then 40 and a towering figure in rock and roll with hits like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven,” brought his signature guitar riffs and duck-walking stage antics to a crowd of eager Merseyside fans.

Liverpool’s lucky few witnessed a cornerstone of music history, no footnotes needed.

There’s no full setlist preserved, but Berry’s shows from that period typically leaned on his catalog of classics—“Maybellene,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” maybe “Memphis, Tennessee”—delivered with his raw, bluesy energy. The Cavern’s tiny stage, barely 12 feet wide, would’ve made his usual showmanship a tight squeeze, but that likely amped up the intimacy. Fans packed in, probably spilling into the venue’s arched brick tunnels, soaking up a rare chance to see an American pioneer in a space built for local acts.

When I saw Chuck Berry in the Convocation Center at Ohio University (as one act in a touring Rock N Roll Revival that included Sha Na Na and a host of Fifties and early Sixties groups) he had ample room to duckwalk all he wanted, and from my vantage point directly behind the stage the bright-eyed faces never wanted him to stop. The contrast between the venues is striking. The Cavern Club could pack 300 or so, the Convocation Center 5,000.

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Chuck Berry's house in the 1950s where he wrote
most of his greatest hits. (Photo: Gary Firstenberg)

Chuck Berry died on March 18, 2017, at his home near Wentzville, Missouri. He was 90 years old, and authorities confirmed he passed due to natural causes. More than 1,000 people lined up to pay respects before he was laid to rest at Bellerive Heritage Gardens Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, alongside his wife, Themetta “Toddy” Berry, who passed in 2019.

Chuck Berry's tomb in St. Louis. (Photo: Gary Firstenberg)

Click to enlarge.

Rare photo of the legendary rocker showing Berry's red Gibson ES-335 guitar which accompanied him in the grave. The site’s a quiet nod to his roots, just miles from where he shaped rock and roll. This and the other photos below also courtesy Gary Firstenberg.