The Complete Chess Singles As & Bs 1955-1961

by Chuck Berry

Overview

A double-disc set that rounds up both sides of all the classic singles Chuck Berry released prior to his imprisonment in 1962, this 2015 collection does miss some great Chess sides from his first stint at the label -- all the dynamite 1964 singles ("Promised Land," "Nadine," "No Particular Place to Go," "You Never Can Tell") are naturally absent -- but it's a terrific portrait of Chuck's great initial explosion. The momentum is palpable: four singles in, he's gone from "Maybelline" to "Roll Over Beethoven" and from there the classics pile up. The format allows for some oddities here -- "Vacation Time," "Hey Pedro," "La Jaunda," and "Childhood Sweetheart" usually don't show up on Chuck comps -- but it also gives space to "Worried Life Blues," "Deep Feeling," and "Jaguar and Thunderbird," along with all the expected classics, making this a really nice double-disc set of Berry's prime. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/10/2015
Label:	Acrobat Music
UPC:	0824046312220
Rank:	6879

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Maybelline
2. Wee Wee Hours
3. Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)
4. Together (We Will Always Be)
5. No Money Down
6. The Downbound Train
7. Roll Over Beethoven
8. Drifting Heart
9. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
10. Too Much Monkey Business
11. You Can't Catch Me
12. Havana Moon
13. School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)
14. Deep Feeling
15. Oh Baby Doll
16. Lajaunda
17. Rock and Roll Music
18. Blue Feeling
19. Sweet Little Sixteen
20. Reelin' and Rockin'
21. Johnny B. Goode
22. Around and Around
23. Beautiful Delilah
24. Vacation Time
25. Carol

Disc 2

26. Hey Pedro
27. Sweet Little Rock and Roller
28. Jo Jo Gun
29. Run Rudolph Run
30. Merry Christmas Baby
31. Anthony Boy
32. That's My Desire
33. Almost Grown
34. Little Queenie
35. Back In the U.S.A.
36. Memphis, Tennessee
37. Broken Arrow
38. Childhood Sweetheart
39. Let It Rock
40. Too Pooped To Pop
41. Bye Bye Johnny
42. Worried Life Blues
43. I Got To Find My Baby
44. Mad Lad
45. Jaguar And Thunderbird
46. Our Little Rendezvous
47. I'm Talking About You
48. Little Star
49. Come On
50. Go-Go-Go

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Chuck Berry   Primary Artist,Bass,Drums,Guitar,Vocals
The Ecuadors   Primary Artist
Martha Berry   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Otis Spann   Piano
Reggie Boyd   Bass
Ebby Hardy   Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Harvey Fuqua   Vocals (Background)
Jimmy Rogers   Guitar
Lafayette Leake   Piano
Fred Below   Drums
Etta James   Vocals (Background)
Leroy Davis   Sax (Tenor)
Hubert Sumlin   Guitar
Jasper Thomas   Drums,Percussion
Willie Dixon   Bass,Bass (Upright)
J.C. Davis   Saxophone
Chester Simmons   Vocals (Background)
Chuck Barksdale   Vocals (Background)
James Nolan   Vocals (Background)
Reese Palmer   Vocals (Background)
George Smith   Bass
Odie Payne   Drums
Jerome Green   Maracas,Vocals (Background)
Matt "Guitar" Murphy   Drums,Guitar
Phil Chess   Drums
Jimmie Rodgers   Drums
G. Smith   Bass
Johnnie Johnson   Piano,Vocals (Background)
Marvin Gaye   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Big Maceo Merriweather   Composer
Marvin Brodie   Composer
Hammie Nixon   Composer
Carroll Loveday   Composer
Helmy Kressa   Composer
Johnny Moore   Composer
Peter Clayton   Composer
Paul Watts   Liner Notes
Billy Davis   Composer
Chuck Berry   Composer
Lou Baxter   Composer
Bobby Troup   Composer
Peter J. Clayton   Composer
Sleepy John Estes   Composer
Johnny Marks   Composer