Our picks for the most essential tracks by the Father of Rock & Roll.
“Maybellene” (1955)
It all started here.
Berry greatly overhauled it with his unique twists on rhythm and blues.
Chuck Berry.Credit:Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
The message was that old notions of “classical music” have now been replaced by a new sound.
It’s chaotic, skilled, and fated to be iconic.
In the track’s attitude, Berry didn’t just advance rock & roll he kind of created punk.
This time, he’s the one who can’t be caught in a speedy car.
The galloping music captures his triumph.
Extra points go to listeners who can pick out the lines later lifted bythe Beatlesin “Come Together.”
Johnson’s piano eventually takes the lead, slipping and sliding until it encircles every other sound.
to “the Frisco Bay.”
The song became the second biggest hit of Berry’s career, shooting to No.
The way he bends the strings captures a wry leer as he pursues the elusive Carol.
The song got a new life in 1973 with its inclusion inGeorge Lucas’American Graffitiand the film’s hit soundtrack.
Berry would perform the song in multiple films, includingGo, Johnny Go!
(1959) and the Berry-focused documentaryHail!
Rock ‘n’ Roll(1987).
The music itself also has its own twists, from the questioning guitar line to the loping bass figure.
The wrinkle comes in the sharp guitar licks, meant to echo the whistle of a train.
In the end, their sexual release gets messed up by, of all things, a malfunctioning seatbelt.
It’s the one song where Berry’s car fetish undoes him.
The live track reached No.
27 on theBillboardHot 100 in 1973.
