Legendary musician Chuck Berry, who died last weekend at the age of 90, had a South Delta connection.
The rock legend paid a visit to Ladner back in 1980, performing a concert as part of a grand opening event for a car dealership.
“We all kind of walked away thinking, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. Imagine him showing up here,’” said Tsawwassen’s Tony Walsh, 73, who attended the free outdoor show on June 14, 1980.
He said the crowd was made up of young and old, including a lot of kids.
“It was great fun,” he said, adding that, “everybody was cheering.”
Gary Schoen, who now lives in Tsawwassen, made the trip from Vancouver as part of a group of about half a dozen friends to see the concert.
“It was a little bit strange seeing somebody like that outside the confines of a club. But, the whole idea of him playing outside, doing a free show was what really got us going there to be able to see someone like that, a legend.”
A story from the June 11, 1980 edition of the Optimist noted the concert would be held as part of the opening ceremonies for the new Sunshine Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership on Highway 17.
The Optimist reported after the concert that the show attracted 5,000 people and that a police spokesperson said the crowd was well-behaved.
Local music industry veteran Ray Ramsay said it was a shock to find out that Berry had performed in Ladner.
Berry died at his home in Missouri last Saturday.
Berry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
“After Elvis Presley, only Chuck Berry had more influence on the formation and development of rock and roll,” states the organization’s website.
