Presenter Series Rocks On: Show jams to history of rock & roll

Nov. 10—VALDOSTA — To perform a show titled "60 Years of Rock and Roll," Broadway producer Neil Berg said three artists must be represented.

Bill Haley. Elvis Presley. The Beatles.

So, the show will include Bill Haley and The Comets' "Rock Around the Clock," he said, as well as "Jailhouse Rock" for Elvis and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" for The Beatles.

Just three songs from the dozens he's set to perform as part of "Neil Berg's 60 Years of Rock & Roll," the first Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts Presenter Series show for the 2022-23 season.

Berg brought a similar show — "50 Years of Rock & Roll" — to Valdosta several years ago. Audiences can expect to hear rock tunes not just from the 1950s to the present but a few of the songs and styles that inspired rock & roll.

The movie "The Blackboard Jungle" introduced many Americans to Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" and rock & roll, Berg said.

"For white America, Elvis came in, performing music from juke joints and R&B music. Styles they had never heard before," he added.

So, "60 Years of Rock & Roll" reaches back almost 100 years to 1920s and '30s and Bessie Smith, a Black singer nicknamed "Empress of the Blues," who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

So, the show follows the influence of the blues then the impact of 1950s country music on rock & roll.

Then, audiences can expect the thundering shudder of modern rock & roll from the past several decades.

The Presenter Series show synopsis: "From the progenitors of rock and roll in the 1940s, through the glory years of the '50s, '60s and '70s, up until MTV in the early '80s, Berg's (show) uses fascinating stories and groundbreaking music, with tributes to such important and iconic rock stars/groups/genres as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, Frankie Valli, The Beatles, Beach Boys, Motown, Aretha Franklin, The Who, Janis Joplin, Woodstock, Simon & Garfunkel, Carole King, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Disco, New Wave, Journey and others."

The songs are performed by Berg and other Broadway stars, including Brook Wood, a vocalist who often sings rock with orchestras; Jarran Muse, who played Marvin Gaye in "Motown: The Musical," Joey Calveri, who performed in "We Will Rock You," the Queen musical; Danny Zolli, who has performed with Berg in past shows.

For Berg, it's good to be back touring and performing.

Like the rest of the live entertainment industry, the pandemic kept him from performing but not from creating.

Berg said he got into shape and wrote two new musicals during the down time. He composed the music for "Grumpy Old Men: The Musical," which has been on tour.

As for the Presenter Series show, Berg said he looks forward to returning to Valdosta and rocking on.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts Presenter Series presents "Neil Berg's 60 Years of Rock & Roll," 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, Mathis City Auditorium, 2300 N. Ashley St.

More information: Visit the arts center, 527 N. Patterson St., call (229) 247-2787; or visit turnercenter.org.

The Valdosta Daily Times is a long-time Presenter Series sponsor.