🔥🎸 John borrowed that lick for sure, he always studied the old school Rock'n'Roll, not only Chuck Berry! Damian, many thanks for this great lesson and the inspiring trip to history of music 🇩🇪👍
I vote for "borrowed." Lennon and McCartney (like many of their peers in England) loved American blues / R&B records and sought them out. I hadn't thought about the "Helter Skelter" connection but you're on to something there too. I don't think there's anything wrong with this: songwriters put things they learn from others into their own songs. It's really what it's all about: tying together influences to make "your own thing." If we weren't knocked out by music as kids, we wouldn't become musicians at all, and as we find our way on the instrument, we stumble on things we heard our heroes did and we think, "That's great---I want to use that!"
Always good stuff on your channel Damian. I say the Beatles were inspired. For me the best part of the video was the inspiring word at the end. Something we can all learn from.
Damian, My answer to your question, "Did Lennon borrow that opening riff from Pee Wee or was it a coincidence? Hmmm? " The Beatles in general were known for grabbing stuff from others and making it their own. So, perhaps he did borrow it. Of course, only Lennon knows the answer to that one. But, you are so right that any successful musican grabs bits and pieces from other musicians from the past or current to come up with their own sound. Thanks for passing this along. 🎸 Tim
Thanks again Damian, at a guess I would say the lick was borrowed, on purpose or not we will probably never know but we do know the Beatles were massive fans of the Blues. Cheers man.
It was clear to me that John was paying tribute to Chuck with the opening lines of Come Together, but he ended up paying a lot more than tribute! NOT FAIR! I wish someone could just ask Paul if they were lifting that riff from Pee Wee. It wouldn't suprise me if they knew that song, they were serious Blues History buffs.
The connection between Peewee Crayton's "Do Unto Others" and the Beatles "Revolution" and "Helter Skelter" is undeniable. The two examples you cited are almost identical to Crayton's guitar licks.
I cannot stand, ridiculously stupid comments/accusations like this! When I was learning the guitar, I created many runs, riffs and tunes in blues...it wasn't until I listened more to blues recordings I realised that, when you are learning guitar in the same system/style as others, it is inevitable to tread in the footsteps of others...few, if any are original!!!
John grabbed plenty from others like Come Together that Paul had to rearrange and add to so it did not copy Chuck Berry completely. But he used some of the lyrics which Roulette sued him for.
Beatles didn't steal, they only occasionally lifted small segments of music from others - actually, they were often ripped off by other musicians. Anyway, cross-pollination is common in music.
What a fantastic deep dig, Damian. Great work! The Beatles never strayed too far for too long from the 50s r&r canon that inspired them from the start, but hearing this stuff in that context makes it all the more evident. And how classic is that riff- minus the distortion - in so many early Mississippi slide tunes??? Again, context. Rock - and dig on, my friend.
Thank you for shining a light on the great Pee Wee Crayton, Mr. Bacci. His lead guitar style is sure to appeal to fans of both T-Bone Walker and Chuck Berry. In fact, I can picture a young Chuck Berry learning the sliding sixth and ninth licks off of Pee Wee's great T-Bone Walker-inspired 1948 instrumental single "Blues After Hours", later applying them to songs like "Memphis, Tennessee". He is one of those players that cause me to ask, "Why didn't I discover him and his wonderful music sooner?" Ah well ... Better late than never. Hope that all is well with you and take care!
Chuck Berry's riffs and licks were ripped off so much he could have had a career in filing and probably winning a lot of lawsuits. Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Zeppelin, and on and on ad nauseum. Rockers in general are not the most creative bunch. But they play fast and made some sweet cash through the years thanks to Berry and the original blues guys. It ain't fair.
Borrowed? Oh, I don't know. That lick Lennon used is such a rock'n' roll standard. It could have come from anywhere. On first hearing, I thought it was directly from Chuck Berry. I think that lick was just in the air, so to speak.
Great stuff Damian. John and the other Beatles definitely got ideas from early rock and roll heroes and it wouldn't suprise me if they listened to Pee Wee Crayton as well. They covered Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins tracks in the early days and if you listen to the end of The Ballad of John and Yoko you'll hear the similarity to the end of Johnny Burnette and the rock and roll trios Lonesome tears in my eyes. ps they also played that live as well in 1963, so American rock and roll and Rockabilly was on their radar very early on in their musical careers.
6 дней назад+1
Playing guitar is also a similarity too. Definitely stolen!
Lennon may have never heard of PeeWee Crayton, but I'll bet Eric Clapton knew who he was, and since they were all hanging out around this time, I wouldn't be surprised if that's how he got ahold of it.
Excellent history and analysis. Damien, as a former professional guitarist , I've been checking your posts for over a decade: digging your mix of loopy humour, encyclopedic knowledge of the swing and jump blues roots of rockabilly, and I really commend both your increasing fluidity in and tutorials in swing and even bop jazz stylings. History. Knowledge. Skill. Diversity. Sure looks and sounds like Rock-n-Roll to me....
Good morning Damian. Engaging content as always, thanks so much for the story/history and the lesson 🤠 I’m also feeling that second connection mentioned, the one to Helter Skelter.
Robert Johnson used it throughout his 1936 song "Dust My Broom". But the thing is that this "riff" is so elementary that any beginner guitarist or pianist can do it without even thinking. Chuck Berry's and John Lennon's intros were all different from this and each others. Lennon may have used this slightly changed riff as a homage as Lennon is so talented that he could have easily come up with something complex like he did numerous times before in other songs.
Things tend to repeat themselves over and over again. In between, people born and people die. Many teenagers (nowadays) never listened to Rockabilly. In fact, I believe that trends are nothing more than the old made new in repetitive generational cycles. I bet that Rockabilly will be rediscovered in the future and become a new hype again (maybe some generations later). Summarizing: Nobody invented the wheel but we reinvent it everyday. Lenon did just that.
Damian, Just found your western swing tutorials and can’t wait to dig in! Circa 1984, Pee Wee was opening for Big Joe Turner and Percy Mayfield at a little South Central L.A. nightclub. Pee Wee had a full horn section, a B3, an accordionist, a harpist, and a full rhythm section ready to go… but the drummer was AWOL. He leaned into his mic and said, “Pee Wee needs a drummer!” I happily volunteered. That was something. The band was killing. After the 3rd number, Delmar “Mighty Mouth” Evans joined us. Standing 5’4,” Delmar was bald before bald was cool. After shouting two verses Mighty Mouth started grabbing chairs off a stack; the first, he gripped between his teeth. He hooked each successive chair to another. Pee Wee soloed while Delmar built a towering club chair tornado sculpture, balanced in his jaw. Pee Wee was loving it! What a night!
I only heard of pee wee Clayton after reading B.B. King's life story recently. The book is called King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B. B. King, where pee wee is mentioned with other influences on BB. Lennon possibly heard of him later in the Beatles career as he was a fan of B.B. King guitar playing.
I have no doubt Lennon might have copped the first 3 bars of that intro but on the 4th he goes up a step and 1/2 and bends up so he changed it and from there the melody is totally different. The only thing that’s maybe odd is that The Beatles, none of them, were known as particular “Blues fanatics” and Pee Wee Crayton was certainly not a big well known star…maybe he was hanging out with Keith Richards! He was known to hang with KR right during that period for various reasons..possibly heroin connections being one of them unfortunately. Keith was well known to have a big collection of old blues records….this is all forensic guess work and it takes nothing away from Lennons brilliance for me. The Helter Skelter lick is more of a stretch I think to claim the origin…who knows…probably McCartney!
John had the blues shuffle and most of the song, it was actually George in one of the recording sessions that was noodling and came up with the lead into riff, theyre are versions of revolution without the recognizable guitar part
Now I wonder which came first.......Pee Wee's lick or Chuck Berry's even more famous similar "Go Johnny, go!" intro, Damian? Regardless, great lesson and historical fun ride as always coming to us out of Tampa Bay!! Jim C.
"Borrowed" is being extremely kind, especially considering that Lennon ripped off Chuck Berry to the point that he recorded his solo Rock 'N' Roll LP as part of the legal settlement. Lennon grew up listening to music like Crayton's, so I highly doubt that he'd never heard of it. Yes, we all incorporate bits and pieces of music that influences us, but some people seem to get carried away. Just ask Led Zeppelin.
No, not the same, it's closer to Johnny B Goode. And being a musician you should know that music is layered one song on top of another and built with elements of previous songs from over many years. There is not a musician around no matter what instrument they play that hasn't been inspired by or borrowed something from other songs or artists. Your claim is total BS!
🔥🎸 John borrowed that lick for sure, he always studied the old school Rock'n'Roll, not only Chuck Berry! Damian, many thanks for this great lesson and the inspiring trip to history of music 🇩🇪👍
I vote for "borrowed." Lennon and McCartney (like many of their peers in England) loved American blues / R&B records and sought them out. I hadn't thought about the "Helter Skelter" connection but you're on to something there too. I don't think there's anything wrong with this: songwriters put things they learn from others into their own songs. It's really what it's all about: tying together influences to make "your own thing." If we weren't knocked out by music as kids, we wouldn't become musicians at all, and as we find our way on the instrument, we stumble on things we heard our heroes did and we think, "That's great---I want to use that!"
😮😂😢😂 Borrowed. The English Cat's borrowed the Entire Genre's of Blues, R&B, Rock n Roll, and jazz and swing before That. 😊😂😂😂
I'm not sure if I have heard of pee wee Clayton, but I know who he us now thanks to this video, love the song and the way it's recorded, thank Damian!
yeah... thanks, young man...
Mr. Crayton, another gem revealed by Damian! Thanks, brother.
Congratulation on 100,000 subscribers Damian!!! Great video, as always!
Pee Wee Crayton! Yes! Thanks as always, Damian! You're the best!
Always good thanks 😊 great saying as well 👍 🙏
Love your voice. So smooth. More please.
Always good stuff on your channel Damian. I say the Beatles were inspired.
For me the best part of the video was the inspiring word at the end. Something we can all learn from.
A total lift from the original!.... Thanks again Damien!
Damian, My answer to your question, "Did Lennon borrow that opening riff from Pee Wee or was it a coincidence? Hmmm? " The Beatles in general were known for grabbing stuff from others and making it their own. So, perhaps he did borrow it. Of course, only Lennon knows the answer to that one. But, you are so right that any successful musican grabs bits and pieces from other musicians from the past or current to come up with their own sound. Thanks for passing this along. 🎸 Tim
Great history of guitar evolution/revolution !
Thanks again Damian, at a guess I would say the lick was borrowed, on purpose or not we will probably never know but we do know the Beatles were massive fans of the Blues. Cheers man.
Damian, where did you get that cool hat? I want one.
Another great video. I have a question. Who is the pianist (or group) playing in the background at the beginning of the video? Thanks again.
If nothing else, John liked Chuck Berry and Chuck probably lifted it from peewee extremely similar
It was clear to me that John was paying tribute to Chuck with the opening lines of Come Together, but he ended up paying a lot more than tribute! NOT FAIR! I wish someone could just ask Paul if they were lifting that riff from Pee Wee. It wouldn't suprise me if they knew that song, they were serious Blues History buffs.
The connection between Peewee Crayton's "Do Unto Others" and the Beatles "Revolution" and "Helter Skelter" is undeniable. The two examples you cited are almost identical to Crayton's guitar licks.
I cannot stand, ridiculously stupid comments/accusations like this! When I was learning the guitar, I created many runs, riffs and tunes in blues...it wasn't until I listened more to blues recordings I realised that, when you are learning guitar in the same system/style as others, it is inevitable to tread in the footsteps of others...few, if any are original!!!
John grabbed plenty from others like Come Together that Paul had to rearrange and add to so it did not copy Chuck Berry completely. But he used some of the lyrics which Roulette sued him for.
Why bait folks with the Lennon jive? Just so you can show off a couple of Berry licks? Clickbait!
Stealing is not borrowing?
The Beatles stole a lot.
Beatles didn't steal, they only occasionally lifted small segments of music from others - actually, they were often ripped off by other musicians. Anyway, cross-pollination is common in music.
Oh yeah. It was either Paul or John who said "we're the best nickers in the business..". And why not? It's only smarmy if you won't own up to it...
What a fantastic deep dig, Damian. Great work! The Beatles never strayed too far for too long from the 50s r&r canon that inspired them from the start, but hearing this stuff in that context makes it all the more evident. And how classic is that riff- minus the distortion - in so many early Mississippi slide tunes??? Again, context. Rock - and dig on, my friend.
Thank you for shining a light on the great Pee Wee Crayton, Mr. Bacci. His lead guitar style is sure to appeal to fans of both T-Bone Walker and Chuck Berry. In fact, I can picture a young Chuck Berry learning the sliding sixth and ninth licks off of Pee Wee's great T-Bone Walker-inspired 1948 instrumental single "Blues After Hours", later applying them to songs like "Memphis, Tennessee". He is one of those players that cause me to ask, "Why didn't I discover him and his wonderful music sooner?" Ah well ... Better late than never. Hope that all is well with you and take care!
I prefer the word inspired over stole.
Inspired doesn't mean stolen.
Chuck Berry's riffs and licks were ripped off so much he could have had a career in filing and probably winning a lot of lawsuits. Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Zeppelin, and on and on ad nauseum. Rockers in general are not the most creative bunch. But they play fast and made some sweet cash through the years thanks to Berry and the original blues guys. It ain't fair.
Borrowed? Oh, I don't know. That lick Lennon used is such a rock'n' roll standard. It could have come from anywhere. On first hearing, I thought it was directly from Chuck Berry. I think that lick was just in the air, so to speak.
Great stuff Damian. John and the other Beatles definitely got ideas from early rock and roll heroes and it wouldn't suprise me if they listened to Pee Wee Crayton as well. They covered Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins tracks in the early days and if you listen to the end of The Ballad of John and Yoko you'll hear the similarity to the end of Johnny Burnette and the rock and roll trios Lonesome tears in my eyes. ps they also played that live as well in 1963, so American rock and roll and Rockabilly was on their radar very early on in their musical careers.
Playing guitar is also a similarity too. Definitely stolen!
John heard it while tripping and never realized where he got it
Lennon may have never heard of PeeWee Crayton, but I'll bet Eric Clapton knew who he was, and since they were all hanging out around this time, I wouldn't be surprised if that's how he got ahold of it.
That Epiphone sounds great and so does your voice.
Excellent history and analysis. Damien, as a former professional guitarist , I've been checking your posts for over a decade: digging your mix of loopy humour, encyclopedic knowledge of the swing and jump blues roots of rockabilly, and I really commend both your increasing fluidity in and tutorials in swing and even bop jazz stylings. History. Knowledge. Skill. Diversity. Sure looks and sounds like Rock-n-Roll to me....
Hey Damian, You’re my hero Mate! Thanks a lot. Rod in London
Good morning Damian. Engaging content as always, thanks so much for the story/history and the lesson 🤠
I’m also feeling that second connection mentioned, the one to Helter Skelter.
Robert Johnson used it throughout his 1936 song "Dust My Broom". But the thing is that this "riff" is so elementary that any beginner guitarist or pianist can do it without even thinking.
Chuck Berry's and John Lennon's intros were all different from this and each others.
Lennon may have used this slightly changed riff as a homage as Lennon is so talented that he could have easily come up with something complex like he did numerous times before in other songs.
Things tend to repeat themselves over and over again.
In between, people born and people die.
Many teenagers (nowadays) never listened to Rockabilly.
In fact, I believe that trends are nothing more than the old made new in repetitive generational cycles.
I bet that Rockabilly will be rediscovered in the future and become a new hype again (maybe some generations later).
Summarizing: Nobody invented the wheel but we reinvent it everyday. Lenon did just that.
Half ( or more ).of the old blues songs would be gone ... lyrics , music , styles , technique
Hey ! You tune your guitar the way I do !
W.T.F.?
Been listening to Pee Wee Crayton since the 1980's...A favorite. Thank you Damian.
Damian, Just found your western swing tutorials and can’t wait to dig in! Circa 1984, Pee Wee was opening for Big Joe Turner and Percy Mayfield at a little South Central L.A. nightclub. Pee Wee had a full horn section, a B3, an accordionist, a harpist, and a full rhythm section ready to go… but the drummer was AWOL. He leaned into his mic and said, “Pee Wee needs a drummer!” I happily volunteered. That was something. The band was killing. After the 3rd number, Delmar “Mighty Mouth” Evans joined us. Standing 5’4,” Delmar was bald before bald was cool. After shouting two verses Mighty Mouth started grabbing chairs off a stack; the first, he gripped between his teeth. He hooked each successive chair to another. Pee Wee soloed while Delmar built a towering club chair tornado sculpture, balanced in his jaw. Pee Wee was loving it! What a night!
Bla Bla Bacci. What about total rip off when Chuck Berry stole Johnny B Good intro from Louis Jordan’s “Ain’t that just like a woman”?????
Perhaps Clapton introduced the Beatles to Pee Wee's music. Great video! 👏 👍
Like the strat story..love how he played it for his whole life..simple gestures with huge payoffs!!
I only heard of pee wee Clayton after reading B.B. King's life story recently. The book is called King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B. B. King, where pee wee is mentioned with other influences on BB. Lennon possibly heard of him later in the Beatles career as he was a fan of B.B. King guitar playing.
I have no doubt Lennon might have copped the first 3 bars of that intro but on the 4th he goes up a step and 1/2 and bends up so he changed it and from there the melody is totally different. The only thing that’s maybe odd is that The Beatles, none of them, were known as particular “Blues fanatics” and Pee Wee Crayton was certainly not a big well known star…maybe he was hanging out with Keith Richards! He was known to hang with KR right during that period for various reasons..possibly heroin connections being one of them unfortunately. Keith was well known to have a big collection of old blues records….this is all forensic guess work and it takes nothing away from Lennons brilliance for me. The Helter Skelter lick is more of a stretch I think to claim the origin…who knows…probably McCartney!
Thanks Damian you’re a great teacher.🏴🇬🇧
I think John was probably playing a simplified Chuck riff. But it doesn't matter. I like it all! That's good rockin' and no mistake.
John had the blues shuffle and most of the song, it was actually George in one of the recording sessions that was noodling and came up with the lead into riff, theyre are versions of revolution without the recognizable guitar part
Man, I first thought ,the intro to Sexy Ways .
Got a chuck berry vibe as well them multi string bends
stole a blues lick, huh? did he steal the blues progression too?
Sunny Tampa…today?
Why wasnt the original a huge hit?
Borrowed
Recollection ..
Chuck berry too
Now that's cool.
Very nice!!😂
Now I wonder which came first.......Pee Wee's lick or Chuck Berry's even more famous similar "Go Johnny, go!" intro, Damian? Regardless, great lesson and historical fun ride as always coming to us out of Tampa Bay!! Jim C.
Besides Carl Hogan, Chuck "borrowed" Goree Carter.
"Borrowed" is being extremely kind, especially considering that Lennon ripped off Chuck Berry to the point that he recorded his solo Rock 'N' Roll LP as part of the legal settlement. Lennon grew up listening to music like Crayton's, so I highly doubt that he'd never heard of it. Yes, we all incorporate bits and pieces of music that influences us, but some people seem to get carried away. Just ask Led Zeppelin.
Lovely tone
There was definitely an influence.
Just as well John Lennon did not also borrow Pee Wee's Strat as he might have stripped off the cool paint job as per his Casino.
I thought of Helter Skelter right away when you played that riff
Damian, I’m digging the Van Halen shirt. 🤘🏼
👍💯
No, not the same, it's closer to Johnny B Goode. And being a musician you should know that music is layered one song on top of another and built with elements of previous songs from over many years. There is not a musician around no matter what instrument they play that hasn't been inspired by or borrowed something from other songs or artists. Your claim is total BS!