Berry fans left hungry for 'Johnny'

How old is Chuck Berry?

Old enough to forget what he wrote.

How else to explain the legendary rocker's sudden and rather premature departure from the stage at Deer Valley last Saturday night in violation of two cardinal rules of rock 'n' roll, to wit:

 Never end a rock 'n' roll concert at 9 p.m.

 If you wrote the rock anthem "Johnny B. Goode," then sing it.

But there we sat, my son Tanner and I, $62 lighter on account of the $31 apiece we'd thrown down for the opportunity to sit on the lawn and listen to "The Prime Minister" of rock do his signature duck walk and sing his signature song.

Actually, it was Tanner who was $62 lighter, since he bought the tickets as a Father's Day gift back in June when Deer Valley announced its summer lineup and it included none other than Chuck Berry himself on Aug. 29.

I'd had two reactions to that: 1) We can hear "Johnny B. Goode"! and 2) Chuck Berry's still alive?

He's alive all right. Charles Edward Berry will be 83 on his next birthday, Oct. 18, and he's still touring.

And you thought Brett Favre was having a hard time hangin' 'em up.

But if you think doing a rock show is easy when you hit your 80s, well, I'm going to assume you weren't there Saturday night.

Chuck Berry sang a bunch of lyrics that went, "Mmm mmm … I forgot the words …"

Not that everyone wasn't willing to cut someone born in 1926 plenty of slack.

Consider that some of Chuck Berry's contemporaries you may have heard of include Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Charles, Paul Newman, Malcolm X, Rocky Marciano, Mickey Mantle, Bobby Kennedy and Edward Abbey — and none of them are still booking tour dates.

Fidel Castro and Alan Greenspan are Chuck Berry's age, and they're sure not selling 4,000 tickets to a Deer Valley concert.

So it was partly in tribute that the people flocked on a crystal perfect August night to the side of a Utah ski slope to pay homage to the rock pioneer.

This was a man Elvis mimicked. So did the Beatles and the Stones. The Beach Boys reworked his "Sweet Little Sixteen" into their own signature hit, "Surfin' U.S.A." Dylan idolized him. The Grateful Dead worshipped him. The Sex Pistols were inspired by him.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1986 the very first inductee, Numero Uno, second to none, was Charles Edward "Chuck" Berry.

When Rolling Stone ranked the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Chuck Berry came in at No. 5 (behind The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones).