Two months after his death, rock and roll originator Chuck Berry is releasing his first-ever music video. The posthumous clip for the song “Big Boys” from Berry’s final studio album, CHUCK, is a fitting celebration of the charter Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist/singer’s sound and vision, featuring an elaborate dance sequence at a high school sock hop.
The clip debuted on NPR on Wednesday morning (May 17), where directors Matt Bizer and Curtis Wayne Millard explained that they had one goal in mind when coming up with a concept for Berry’s first music video: have fun. “Chuck Berry tunes are a good time and they tell stories that everyone can relate with, so we wanted to stay true to that,” Bizer and Millard told NPR Music. “When we where shooting the video, Chuck Berry was still with us and during post-production we found out he had passed on. We did not know how to really process it all. In a way, I think we are still processing the entire experience.”
The high-energy dance routine was the work of choreographer Jeremy Green, who included traditional rock and rolls swing steps, a Washington Hand Dance and some modern hip-hop elements. The video was shot in Jasper, Georgia, and features performances from Atlanta’s Dance 411 Studio.
CHUCK, Berry’s first album in nearly four decades, is slated for release on June 16 on Dualtone Records. Watch the “Big Boys” video below.