Want to know how good and significant the St. Louis, Missouri-born rock and roll songwriter and performer Chuck Berry was? Well, according to legendary artist John Lennon, “If you had to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.” In other words, according to the former Beatle, Berry was synonymous with the sound.
And when that’s the case, well, you’re bound to have released some songs that have stood the test of time. Here below, we wanted to explore a trio of such tunes. Three tracks from Berry that continue to receive airplay and get listeners’ feet a-moving. These are three eternal classic rock Chuck Berry songs.
[RELATED: Chuck Berry Originally Dreamed of a Different Flashy Career Before Becoming a Rock and Roller]
“Johnny B. Goode” (1958)
Written in 1955 and released as a standalone single in 1958—years before the British Invasion and more than a decade before future classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin hit the scene—this track is part rollicking tune and part short story. On it, Chuck Berry tells the story of a guitar player wunderkind from the Louisiana backwoods. All he wanted to do was be a band leader and famous guitar player. And Berry tells the fictional story (which is based, in part, on his own life) with rousing delivery. On the track, Berry sings,
Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play a guitar just like a-ringin’ a bell
“Maybellene” (1955)
Another standalone single released by Berry, this time from 1955, this track is part love story and part race-car ode. Not only is this song still enjoyable these days but it is one of the first-ever rock and roll hits as we know the genre today. Energetic, electric guitar-driven, and full of teenage tropes (crushes and cars), this track gets shoulders swaying and visions of summer nights on your mind. On the track, Berry sings,
As I was motivatin’ over the hill
I saw Mabellene in a Coup de Ville
A Cadillac arollin’ on the open road
Nothin’ will outrun my V8 Ford
The Cadillac doin’ about ninety-five
She’s bumper to bumper, rollin’ side by side
Maybellene
Why can’t you be true
Oh Maybellene, why can’t you be true
You’ve started back doin’ the things you used to do
“Run Rudolph Run” (1958)
A standalone Christmas single, this track from Berry takes advantage of the familiar cartoon reindeer with the red, red nose. But the song also includes dialogue between Santa and children talking about what the kids want for the Christmas holiday. Today, the song is one of the most popular played during the December celebratory season and because of it, Berry’s voice rings out and will continue for many years to come. On the rollicking tune, he sings,
Out of all the reindeers you know you are the mastermind
Run, run Rudolph, Randolph ain’t too far behind
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s gotta make it to town
Santa, make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a boy child, “What have you been longin’ for?”
“All I want for Christmas is a rock ‘n’ roll ‘lectric guitar”
And then away went Rudolph whizzin’ like a shootin’ star
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