The Chuck Berry Sound according to Atomicat

This site is about the music of Chuck Berry, i.e. his songs, his lyrics, his guitar playing, his singing, his arrangements. To define this Chuck Berry Sound is difficult because he used a multitude of styles from blues to ballads to pop and of course rock’n’roll. But you also find instrumentals, poetry, nonsense lyrics, multi-tracked harmonies, and experimental rock in Berry’s oeuvre.

Thus when Atomicat Records recently released a CD titled „The Chuck Berry Sound“, it was interesting to learn how they would define the sound that comes from Berry’s music. Well, they couldn’t concentrate either.



At first they took the easy route: cover versions. Eight of the tracks are written by Berry himself and thus obviously close to his sound. However, Atomicat selected cover version you probably have never heard of before, even though all songs on this CD are from the 1950s and early 1960s.

Hear you can listen to one of the earliest female singers working with Berry material: Margaret Lewis singing Roll Over Beethoven. Another very early cover version from 1956, and a funny one, is Too Much Monkey Business by The Gadabouts supported by Carl Steven’s Orchestra. Several of the cover versions are very different from Berry’s own, especially Betty Jean by Terry Gale, Brown Eyed Handsome Man by Scotty McKay, Carol by Jim Miller, and Rock'n'Roll Music by Jimmy Breedlove. Further cover versions included are Johnny B. Goode by Gootch Jackson with Herbie Layne's Orchestra and Thirty Days by Wes Reynolds, though titled Forty Days like the Ronnie Hawkins version.

A second set of tracks on this CD contains recordings which sound like Chuck Berry hits. Both Brownie McGhee’s Anna Mae, Rayvon Darnell’s Don't Want You Maybellene, and Buddy Lucas’ Oh Mary Ann were recorded in late 1955 and sound very much like Berry’s then hit Maybellene. Further soundalikes are Rhythm Feet by Carroll (Wild Red) Pegues which is similar to Around And Around, School Day Blues by Johnny And The Jammers (close to Brown Eyed Handsome Man), Pony Tail Girl by Glenn Garrison (Sweet Little Sixteen), and Knockin' On Your Door by Jimmy King (School Day). Two songs use the melody and pattern of Reelin’ And Rockin’: Tiny Morrie’s Everybody Rocks and the non-twisting Mother Goose Twist by Oliver And The Twisters which by the way at 2:44 minutes is the longest of all the short songs on this album.

Most people will list Berry’s guitar playing as one or as the main element of “The Chuck Berry Sound”, ignoring that Berry reused guitar playing well-known before in Blues and Jazz. Anyway Atomicat identified guitar-oriented songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s on which the guitar players do not hide that they found these riffs on Berry records. Even though Atomicat tried to find the names of these guitarists, they did not succeed with every song. Some of the probably session musicians will remain anonymous.

Berry-inspired guitar solos can be found in Dee Clark’s Dance On Little Girl (guitar: Phil Upchurch) and The New Blockbusters’ Rock & Roll Guitar Part 1 (guitar: Paul Buskirk). On Ray Sharpe’s Justine, Tony Casanova’s (i.e. Jutillo Perez’) Showdown and Billy Peek’s Rock To The Top the main artists both sing and play the Berry guitar. Unknown guitarist provide Berry-like guitar playing on Buddy Howard’s Take Your Hands Off Me Baby, Jerry Hawkins’ Swing Daddy Swing, and The Jet Tones’ Henry.

If you want to count Caveman by Tommy Roe and The Satins as a Berry soundalike is doubtful, though, at least to me. And to accept Eddie Clearwater’s I Was Gone here requires you to know that Edward Harrington (his real name) was not only a Berry soundalike (with many other recordings and cover versions) but also a Berry lookalike in his 1960s shows.

The remaining three songs from this 30-track CD are tribute songs to Chuck Berry himself or to his best-known protagonist. The Dusters sing about a show with both Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis (Rock At The Hop, 1961). Leonard Douglas Drake under his alias Big Daddy G in 1963 recorded a tribute song called Big Berry (Boss Man Guitar) in which he combines Berry song titles. Finally Eddy Bell and the Bel-Aires from 1961 continue the Johnny B. Goode saga with Johnny Be-Goode Is In Hollywood.

All in all “The Chuck Berry Sound” (Atomicat Records ACCD162) is an interesting selection of recordings which show Berry’s influence on other musicians. All these were released long before the Beat craze when all the successful bands listed Berry as one of their main influencers. The latest recording on this set is from 1963. while the earliest start close after Berry’s first chart hit. This is not a CD you will play over and over, but it’s a rare chance to listen to fairly old and hard to find Berry-inspired music.