Inside Stories
Chuck’s Fur Coat
by Capitol Theatre co-founder Al Hayward
The Capitol featured groups that were hot
or up and coming, but we also tried to present music that was
important to the roots of rock and roll. One of those rock
legends was the one and only Chuck Berry.
Most acts that played the Capitol arrived
with a large entourage that included roadies, road managers and
various friends. The Dead, for instance, had a dozen or so
people with them when they performed. Not Chuck Berry. He
arrived at the Capitol all by himself. He flew in to Newark
Airport, rented a car and drove to Passaic. No roadies, no road
manager and not even a back up band. We were expected to supply
that. All he walked in with was his guitar in a
case.
Since it was winter in New Jersey it was
a typical cold night. Chuck had on a full length fur coat. When
he went on stage he instructed Debbie Falconbridge, our back
stage hostess, to stand on the corner of the stage and hold his
fur coat. She could not be seen by the audience but she
could be seen by Chuck. He did not trust anyone backstage with
his coat and insisted that he had to see the coat in
Debbie’s hands all the while he performed. As usual,
Chuck brought down the house. He came to my office in the front
of the theatre, I paid him cash for his performance and out the
door he went.