PROMISED LAND
(Chuck Berry 1964) 2:23
Performed by Vic Ruggiero
"LEFT MY HOME IN NEW YORK CITY, CALIFORNIA ON MY MIND."
It is fitting that this is the first song on the album, as it's the quindecennial traveling road song. In fact, Chuck Berry wrote the song while in prison and borrowed an atlas from the prison library to plot the itinerary. In the lyrics, he refers to himself as "the poor boy" and tells of his journey, to the "Promised Land", Los Angeles, California, mentioning the places he passes through on his journey.
I did get to see Chuck Berry live in 1986 at The Ritz. I was seeing the Mike Tyson VS Trevor Berbickon fight, and at this club I meet a woman named Carol Green (who would become a life long friend after this) who graciously gave me a balcony table on the right side- the payper view started (which could only be seen in a club or a theater for SSS) and then all of a sudden Tyson knocked out Berbickon in the second round — The Crowd went nuts wanted and people were asking for their money back, I don't know if it was Steve Rubel or whoever owned the club, but the club owner came up on stage before there was a mutiny (maybe with in 5 mins) and said we are just as disappointed that the fight end so quickly, BUT we do have a special consolation, and there in the corner stepped out Johnny Be Good — Mr. Chuck Berry, and the stunned crowd gasped, applauded, and stayed. What a great memory.