Rock and Roll Music (song) explained

Rock and Roll Music
Cover:Output-onlinepngtools (7).png
Type:single
Artist:Chuck Berry
B-Side:Blue Feeling
Released:September 1957[1]
Recorded:May 1957
Studio:Chess (Chicago)[2]
Genre:Rock and roll
Length:2:30
Label:Chess
Producer:Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
Prev Title:Oh Baby Doll
Prev Year:1957
Next Title:Sweet Little Sixteen
Next Year:1958

"Rock and Roll Music" is a song by American musician and songwriter Chuck Berry, written and recorded by Berry in May 1957. It has been widely covered and is one of Berry's most popular and enduring compositions.

"Rock and Roll Music" was met with instant success, reaching the top 10 in the United States. The Beatles' 1964 recording topped singles charts in Europe and in Australia, and the Beach Boys had a U.S. top 10 hit with the song in 1976.

Original song

The sessions for "Rock and Roll Music" took place in May 1957 in Chicago.[3] The session was produced by Leonard Chess and Phil Chess.[3] Backing Berry were Lafayette Leake (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), and Fred Below (drums). Chess records issued the song as a single in September 1957 on both the 45 and 78 rpm formats. It reached number six on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart and number eight on Hot 100 chart before the year's end.[4]

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Berry's version number 128 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[5] The song is also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".[6]

The Beatles version

Rock and Roll Music
Cover:Rock_and_Roll_Music_-_The_Beatles.jpg
Caption:Belgian single picture sleeve (1965)
Artist:the Beatles
Released:
Recorded:October 18, 1964
Studio:EMI, London
Genre:Rock and roll
Label:
Producer:George Martin

The Beatles performed the song in many of their early Hamburg shows, and also played it on the BBC program Pop Go the Beatles. In late 1964, exhausted from non-stop touring and recording and short of original material, they decided to record several of their old rock and rhythm and blues favorites to fill out their LP release Beatles for Sale.

John Lennon provided the vocal. In contrast to Berry's even-toned rendition, Lennon sang it as loudly and dynamically as his voice would permit. In the U.S., it was released on the LP Beatles '65. The song was part of the set list for the group's final tour in 1966; the performance from their show of June 30 at the Nippon Budokan was included in 1996's Anthology 2and was also performed during the Get Back/Let It Be Sessions in January 1969. It also served as the title song to the Beatles' 1976 compilation album Rock 'n' Roll Music.

Credits for the piano vary. The original Beatles for Sale liner notes, by Derek Taylor, state that "George Martin joins John and Paul on one piano", implying an overdub by all three that was added after the basic take.[8] In the 1988 book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn described the recording as a single take with no overdubs, with "all The Beatles on their familiar instruments" and Martin on piano.[9]

In some countries, "Rock and Roll Music" was released as a single, with "I'm a Loser" as the B-side, in early 1965. It topped the charts in Norway,[10] Sweden,[11] Finland[12] and Australia.[13] The single peaked at number two in Germany[14] and the Netherlands, and number three in Belgium.[15]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1965)Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)2
Norway (VG-lista)1
West Germany (Media Control)2

The Beach Boys version

Rock and Roll Music
Cover:Beach Boys - Rock and Roll Music.jpg
Type:single
Artist:the Beach Boys
Album:15 Big Ones
B-Side:T M Song
Recorded:1976
Genre:Rock and roll[16]
Label:Brother/Reprise
Producer:Brian Wilson
Prev Title:Sail On, Sailor
Prev Year:1975
Next Title:It's O.K.
Next Year:1976

The Beach Boys' version includes the use of backing vocals which repeat the phrase "Rock, roll, rockin' and roll". There is a difference between the LP version and the single version in that the single version has more synthesizer. Their version reached No. 5 on the US chart and No. 11 in Canada during the summer of 1976.[17]

Personnel

Personnel per 2000 liner notes.[18]

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians and production staffAlbum cover, art direction and logo was done by Dean Torrence and Jim Evans.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1976)Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[19] 11
UK Singles Chart[20] 36
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 5
US Cash Box Top 100[22] 11

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)Rank
Canada[23] 112
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 81

Mental As Anything version

Rock and Roll Music
Type:single
Artist:Mental As Anything
Album:Cyclone Raymond
B-Side:Secret Life (Aus)
Get You Back (UK)
Released:November 1988
Recorded:World Expo '88
Genre:Rock
Length:3:00
4:50 (Extended mix)
Label:CBS Records (Aus)
Epic Records (UK)
Columbia Records (US)
Producer:Steve James
Prev Title:If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Love Comes Running
Next Year:1988

Australian band Mental As Anything covered the song Rock and Roll Music. It was released as the first single from the band's seventh studio album Cyclone Raymond.[25] The song was released on November 1988 and charted at number 5 on the Kent Music Report and it stayed on the chart for 22 weeks.[26]

Charts

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rudolph . Dietmar . Details For Song: Rock And Roll Music . The Chuck Berry Database . 10 December 2021.
  2. Web site: The Chuck Berry Database Details For Recording Session: 6. or 15. 5. 1957. A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry . Dietmar Rudolph . 28 September 2021.
  3. 1988. The Chess Box. Box set booklet. Chuck Berry. Universal City, California. Chess Records/MCA Records. CHD3-80,001. 29, 31.
  4. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn. 1988. Chuck Berry. Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Record Research. 0-89820-068-7. 41.
  5. December 9, 2004. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone. 963. U.S.. https://web.archive.org/web/20080622142703/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2. June 22, 2008. dead.
  6. Web site: 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. https://web.archive.org/web/20070502032502/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs. 2007-05-02. April 16, 2020.
  7. Beatles for Sale. Beatles for Sale. The Beatles. 2008. Beatles for Sale – Historical Notes. Kevin. Howlett. Mike Heatley. 16. CD liner. Capitol Records. 0946 3 82414 2 3.
  8. Web site: Album Liner Notes: Beatles for Sale . August 22, 2010.
  9. Book: Lewisohn, Mark . The Beatles Recording Sessions . 1988 . . New York City . 0-517-57066-1 . 50.
  10. Web site: The Beatles – Rock and Roll Music (song). norwegiancharts.com. April 23, 2019.
  11. Web site: Swedish Charts 1962 – March 1966/Kvällstoppen – Listresultaten vecka för vecka > Mars 1965. hitsallertijden.nl. sv. June 27, 2018.
  12. Web site: 12 August 2015 . Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit SAR - SEM . 2022-03-26 . Sisältää hitin.
  13. Web site: Australian Number One Hits 1960s. World Charts. https://web.archive.org/web/20130731072733/http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus60.htm. July 31, 2013. June 27, 2018.
  14. Web site: The Beatles Single-Chartverfolgung (in German) . musicline.de . https://web.archive.org/web/20131213203848/http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/The%2BBeatles/2278/?type=single . December 13, 2013 . June 27, 2018.
  15. Web site: The Beatles – Rock and Roll Music. ultratop.be. April 23, 2019.
  16. Web site: Will. Ainsley. Every Beach Boys Album, Ranked. Spin. May 24, 2024. August 19, 2024.
  17. Web site: Image: RPM Weekly. Library and Archives. Canada. July 17, 2013. bac-lac.gc.ca.
  18. 15 Big Ones/Love You . . 2000 . Dennis . Diken . Dennis Diken . Buck . Peter . Peter Buck . 2 . booklet . . California.
  19. Web site: Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada . March 30, 2012. January 26, 2017.
  20. Web site: The Official Charts Company - Rock and Roll Music by The Beach Boys Search. 21 March 2023. The Official Charts Company.
  21. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990
  22. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 7/31/76. tropicalglen.com. March 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20181020004150/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19760731.html. October 20, 2018. dead.
  23. Web site: Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977 . . . January 22, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160610094136/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?file_num=nlc008388.5173b&brws_s=&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=u9874ano8k0c5b6bkp4r8qrbp3 . June 10, 2016 .
  24. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976. www.musicoutfitters.com.
  25. https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Mental+As+Anything&titel=Rock+And+Roll+Music&cat=s Australian Charts - Mental As Anything - Rock And Roll Music
  26. http://www.australianmusicdatabase.com/recordings/rock-and-roll-music-by-mental-as-anything Australian Music Database - Mental As Anything - Rock And Roll Music
  27. Book: Kent, David . David Kent (historian)

    . . David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book . St Ives, NSW . 1993 . 0-646-11917-6. 198 .