Fred Rothwell's
Long Distance Information: Chuck Berry's Recorded Legacy (Music Mentor Books, 2001) is the ultimate book for any serious Chuck Berry record collector: All Berry sessions, all the songs, all the session musicians, where to find which song if ever released, and tons of additional stuff.
First published in 2001 the book consists mainly of a 240 page commented "sessionography", a list of 93 recording sessions Chuck participated in between 1954 and 2000. For each session Fred lists the musicians and the songs recorded, whether released or not. For every song he shows a few main records containing it. He also fully describes and critizises every recording.
Chuck Berry's recorded legacy is not complete yet, though. After publication of Fred Rothwell's book we found out about an additional recording session which took place in September 1995:
On September 2nd, 1995 the Cleveland Municipal Stadium housed the
Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During more than seven hours top artists of the 1990s performed along with rock and roll legends. The whole show was broadcast live on TV. Chuck Berry performed two songs: He started the show with
Johnny B. Goode backed by Bruce Springsteen and his reformed E-Street Band. And he closed the show with a special version of
Rock and Roll Music. This version was special in three different ways: It was special because Chuck sang new lyrics fitting to a Rock and Roll Museum. It was special because he was backed by an All-Star Band with Bruce Springsteen, Nils Lofgren, Melissa Etheridge, Booker T & the MGs and others. And this performance was special because it was probably the worst recording of this song ever.
During a concert break in addition a short
Backstage Interview with Chuck was recorded and broadcast. In 1996 SONY published a 2 CD set called
Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This CD contains
highlights from the show and therefore does
not contain the Berry parts.
However, other segments from the show can be found on various bootleg CDs. A complete recording of the show was released as
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Moonraker 014-19, 1995). This 6 CD set includes both performances and the backstage interview. Due to Springsteen performing with Chuck, the two songs can also be found on several Springsteen/Dylan bootlegs like
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Synergy HOF 001) or
Forever Young (Goblin BSGR 1CD).