For me, it was The T.A.M.I. Show movie in 1964. I was already familiar with Chuck Berry’s iconic hits but just as an average radio listener.
But the now-also-iconic concert movie, filmed at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, underlined the “I-wanna-play-guitar-and-be-a-rock-star” mentality of an untold number of teenage boys (like me) who had experienced a hormonal epiphany when the Beatles had appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show” earlier the same year.
Hosts Jan and Dean introduced Berry as the very first act, citing the guitarist as “the guy who started it all, back in 1958.” Apparently, the producers were trying for a fathers-and-sons vibe, as Berry and early British Invasion band Gerry & the Pacemakers traded off songs. To what extent it worked was debatable, but the image of Berry’s lanky frame bending and contorting with the music while evoking those bright, chugging riffs from what appeared to be a Gibson ES-350T was branded into my mind, permanently (especially “Nadine”)...but how many teenage boys would have thought to note the brand and model at the time?
I had previously been unfamiliar with Berry’s “duck walk” and other performance schtick. After The T.A.M.I. Show, I paid very close attention if I ever saw him performing.
However, over the last 25 years or so I had no burning desire to interview him, as had been the case for other legendary giants. Would have done so had the opportunity come along but it didn't happen.