# Chuck Berry's last laugh **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 26, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508 "2000-01-26T17:06:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/1 "2000-01-26T17:06:00Z")
In his column [What songs beat out “Johnny B. Goode” (#8) on the Billboard charts? (15-Sep-1995)](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_008.html), the master says > [@](#): > > And he definitely had the last laugh. In a career that included such gems as “Roll Over Beethoven” (#29, 1956) and “No Particular Place To Go” (#10, 1964), his only #1 hit was the inane “My Ding-a-Ling,” which held the top spot for two weeks in 1972. I think the **definitive** last laugh was the inclusion of “Johnny B. Goode”, by Chuck Berry, on the copper record included on the Voyager spacecraft. In the first Star Trek movie (Star Trek, the motionless picture) the “V-Ger” probe should have revealed its identity by playing “Johnny B. Goode”. Furthermore, I think the master was remiss in not mentioning this in his column. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/2 "2000-01-27T06:37:00Z")
V’ger was the remnant of Voyager VI, which has not been launched as of yet. Who knows, maybe we’ll put Chumbawumba on it. 😃 * * * Judges 14:9 - So [Samson] scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/3 "2000-01-27T14:06:00Z")
I have to admit I always thought Chuck Barry did pretty well (though I heard all his stuff much later than it first came out). But how galling it must have been for him to have one of his best songs unable to climb as high as a song with the refrain: “Oo, ee, oo ah ah …” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ReservoirDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@ReservoirDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReservoirDog)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2000, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/4 "2000-01-28T06:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by DSYoungEsq: > **But how galling it must have been for him to have one of his best songs unable to climb as high as a song with the refrain: “Oo, ee, oo ah ah …” 😉** “…ding dang, walla-walla bing bang…” But “My Ding-a-Ling” hit number #1, right? I think he figured out what the public wanted… Songs containing the word “ding”. ---
**Author:** ![crosstudio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@crosstudio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crosstudio)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2000, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/5 "2000-02-06T00:18:00Z")
the only reason chuck berry didn’t have more #1 hits, is the same reason that Pat Boone did. because chuck was the wrong color at the wrong time. playing ‘jungle’ music on white radio was not going to happen too frequently. but it is hilariously funny that the song that cracked the #1 spot was ‘ding-a-ling’. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/6 "2000-02-07T15:36:00Z")
Huh huh huh…he said “ding.” ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/7 "2000-02-08T02:50:00Z")
BTW, what exactly WAS that song "My Ding-a-Ling about anyway? I can’t remember actually hearing the song in its entirety --I remember seeing a kid on the Simpsons perform it at the school talent show (really funny, before Principal Skinner yanked him off in mid-chorus) ANYway… according to the lyrics I remember, the singer goes: “My ding-a-ling, My ding-a-ling, I want you to play with my ding-a-ling” Well, is he actually referring to his, uh… ding-a-ling?? ---
**Author:** ![Zulu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a9adbd/32.png) [@Zulu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulu)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2000, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/8 "2000-02-08T03:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by minlokwat: > **BTW, what exactly WAS that song "My Ding-a-Ling about anyway?.. > Well, is he actually referring to his, uh… > ding-a-ling??** I think the implied naughtiness helped it’s popularity. The lyrics can be found at [http://www.gold.com.br/~jafol/ChuckBer.htm](http://www.gold.com.br/~jafol/ChuckBer.htm) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/9 "2000-02-09T08:59:00Z")
> [@](#): > > minlokwat: > BTW, what exactly WAS that song "My Ding-a-Ling about anyway? > I can’t remember actually hearing the song in its entirety The complete version is on The London Chuck Berry Sessions. In the introduction to the song, Chuck says, “This is a song about sex, and there’s nothing wrong with sex.” * * * “You can observe a lot just by watching.” – Yogi Berra ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/10 "2000-02-09T09:28:00Z")
::sigh:: They don’t write lyrics like they used to. What happened to Sh-Boom, Rama-lang-a-Ding Dong, Boogedy-Shoo, Beep-bop-A-loola and the rest? And what happened to the teen death songs? Doesn’t anybody die any more? * * * Sig? We don’t need no stinkin’ sig! ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuck-berrys-last-laugh/508/11 "2000-02-09T15:07:00Z")
Actually, Pearl Jam just recently re-did the teen death song Last Kiss. It was quite a hit for a short while, but bewildered many kids I talked to, who weren’t used to hearing angst sung about without pathos.