first of all I want to thank you, also on Maha’s behalf, once again for your good wishes and your understanding - we appreciate them more than you might imagine.
Like I wrote there won’t be many contributions to the forum this year - this one took many months to accomplish and we were lucky that Maha had some better days a couple of weeks ago, so she could do the mixing and appear in two smal scenes in the video. I’m afraid it might take quite some time before she’ll be able to go on with all that.
Maybe I will post one or two earlier songs/videos, but I’ll have to check them first wether or not they’re good enough for your ears end eyes.
As to ‘Heck, I Was Just Dreaming’: Got the idea to write a Chuck Berry hommage when Janice & Bud & Peter poblished a song using the Chuck Berry style - I think it was C. C. Rider.
I’ve been a huge Chuck Berry fan ever since - in fact I’m pretty sure it was him resp. his marvellous songs that lit my fire of love for Rock ‘n’ Roll and guitar playing in general.
And I still think that he was one of the greatest story tellers of them all - lyrics like ‘Too Much Monkey Business’ are immortal, aren’t they...
So here’s my humble attempt to bring the names of 51 great Chuck Berry tunes into a (more or less) reasonable order.
Hope y’all gonna have some fun listening and watching even in times like these that stifle any laughter for so many reasons whenever you switch on your TV.
Take good care,
Stefan
========================================
Musical data:
Bass: RT 2149 (New Orleans Boogie) Piano: RT 2151 (New Orleans Boogie) Guitar 1: RT 1718 (Texas Blues Rock) Drums: Written in MIDI played by MTPowerDrums
Vocals: Me Guitar solos: Me (Fender Strat Jeff Beck Signature, Vox VT 20
Like always designed in Band-in-a-box and worked out in RealBand.
Maha mixed the thing using Reaper for the first time. Also for the first time she used one or two CLA plug-ins. I really admire her for having the will to accomplish the song despite being ill. She tried to keep the sound rougher than usual - my tinnitus ears are completely satisfied with it. Thank you so much, honey - whatever you do: I love it!
Floyd beat me to the punch ... said pretty much what I was thinking. He just said it better than i would have.
You're not just a songer/songwriter.musician ... you're a world-class entertainer. You've never posted anything I didn't think was fabulous. And this one is so good!
Before I moved from St. Louis about 10 years ago, I lived across the highway from Chuck Berry ... about 4KM between us. (That's 2 1/2 miles). We actually lived in Wentzville, Missouri ... a western suburb of St. Louis. When I was still playing in a band, he dropped in and sat in with us 4 or 5 times over a period of about 3 years.
You perfectly captured the CB sound! That was an amazing video and fantastic song. Loved every second of it!
Also, it was so nice to see Maha well enough to participate. Di and I think of the two of you everyday. We send our best and most special wishes to her. You already know my thoughts about you're deteriorating eyesight.
Wishing everything good for both of you. Take care and be safe ...
Well, that was a ton of fun! An awesome idea wonderfully executed in all respects . . . and I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this. It shows. Everything about it was top notch. Simply outstanding!
I had the honour of watching this marvellous video and your song before, but this one is even better than that one. You did a tremendous job! I know what time and effort it had cost Maha and you to get it all how you wanted it to be, but -WOW- what a good video you both made! All those funny things in it. You have to watch it severall times and still you have missed something.
When you placed your latest post I was afraid this video wouldn't come in the Forum, but luckily you have to say goodbye about a dozen times before you really do. And even then I'm not sure.
It's really cool how you managed to assemble this Chuck Berry collage. Anything that hearkens back to a simpler time always feels like a more enjoyable listen for me. Thanks for posting.
PURE FUN and some excellent Berry n more riffing...extremely well done.
I did a tribute to Brian Wilson building a lyric on Beach Boy.Wilson lyrical snippets and titles. I even did it in mono - but had to remix it to stereo as NO ONE wanted to hear mono. Philistines! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-oL9YQQ3mc&ab_channel=raycochrane It was in the days of dead simple vids for me.
This song AND video represent a major effort - Maha did a brilliant job. Fun, rockin', fun and also a good brain tease trying to match titles to the songs in my head. My fave Berry album is a Chess remaster 2 x CD thing at present...really good sound and Johnny Johnson can be heard pretty clearly in them. EXCELLENT
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hi Stefan Love the video. You did an amazing job getting all those titles into the very clever lyrics. Excellent vocal and the guitar work is brilliant. Regards, Leon
Floyd beat me to the punch ... said pretty much what I was thinking. He just said it better than i would have.
You're not just a songer/songwriter.musician ... you're a world-class entertainer. You've never posted anything I didn't think was fabulous. And this one is so good!
Before I moved from St. Louis about 10 years ago, I lived across the highway from Chuck Berry ... about 4KM between us. (That's 2 1/2 miles). We actually lived in Wentzville, Missouri ... a western suburb of St. Louis. When I was still playing in a band, he dropped in and sat in with us 4 or 5 times over a period of about 3 years.
You perfectly captured the CB sound! That was an amazing video and fantastic song. Loved every second of it!
Also, it was so nice to see Maha well enough to participate. Di and I think of the two of you everyday. We send our best and most special wishes to her. You already know my thoughts about you're deteriorating eyesight.
Wishing everything good for both of you. Take care and be safe ...
Alan
Hi Alan, if your intention was making me blush: success. You're far too kind, thank you so much for that heck of a comment. Maha and I are so glad that Di and you enjoy our stuff ...
Unbelievable: I know someone who played with Chuck Berry? Several times? I guess that must have been very exciting!
Please give Di a huge hug - all the best to you both.
Well, that was a ton of fun! An awesome idea wonderfully executed in all respects . . . and I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this. It shows. Everything about it was top notch. Simply outstanding!
My best to you both!
Deej
Hi Deej,
thank you so much, Maha and I really appreciate your positive comment a lot and we're happy you enjoyed watching and listening.
Wow! The amount of love and labor put into this! Totally fun to listen and to watch. Packed to the top with creativity and humor. Damn, you solved one hell of a word puzzle Excellent playing and production.., just cool stuff in a raw. I think CB would approve it! Thank you for sharing. Stay well and take good care of Maha.
I had the honour of watching this marvellous video and your song before, but this one is even better than that one. You did a tremendous job! I know what time and effort it had cost Maha and you to get it all how you wanted it to be, but -WOW- what a good video you both made! All those funny things in it. You have to watch it severall times and still you have missed something.
When you placed your latest post I was afraid this video wouldn't come in the Forum, but luckily you have to say goodbye about a dozen times before you really do. And even then I'm not sure.
Give Maha my best wishes, We'll talk again, Hans
Hi Hans,
thanks a lot for those very kind words you found for the song / video.
Yes, due to Mahas illness I don't think there will be anything new in the near future. One video we started to work on already in 2019 is waiting for her to act in the missing scenes; the video recording of another one (starring the usual suspects) had been scheduled for February but that session had to be cancelled because of the first Corona wave and old farts like us didn't want to take any risk. And the respective song is also waiting for Maha to get back to the computer again, too.
Unlike you who seems to be coming up with a new great song every week, I feel pretty empty... But whenever I manage to assenble a new video you will be the first to have a look at it (which is not an honour as you wrote, but pretty normal,because we're friends.)
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
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Love your Berry-style guitar playing.
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