THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

548-Chuck Berry-Maybellene.

1955-Has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.06. After doing my usual thorough research, it appears that ‘Back to the Future’ didn’t get all of the facts correct.

Chuck Berry was born Charles Edward Anderson Berry on October 18th, 1926, in St Louis, Missouri, United States, he died on March 18th, 2017, from a heart attack. Berry was a significant player in the development of ‘Rock N’ Roll,’ earning him the nickname of the ‘Father of Rock and Roll,’ predominately through his refining and development of ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ but also through his on stage persona, and his song lyrics.

There are many who cite ‘Maybellene as the first real ‘Rock N’ Roll’ song. Berry had heard the American traditional song ‘Ida Red’ performed by Bob Wills (1905-1975) and his backing band the ‘Texas Cowboys,’ played in the style of ‘Western Swing,’ which is a sub-genre of American Country Music. Berry would play his take on the song in racially integrated clubs, and saw that the music brought people together.It was on Muddy Waters (see also best songs 596) recommendation that Berry took the song to Leonard Chess, the owner of ‘Chess Records.’ Chess had become aware that now that World War 2 was 10 years in the past, there was a whole new generation of teenagers with money to spend, and Chess knew exactly how to manipulate the situation. Chess suggested a bigger beat for the song, and added a bass, and a maracas player at the recording session. Berry (see also best songs 308 and 30) re-wrote the lyrics on Chess’ direction, singing about fast cars, and sexuality, subjects which appealed to teenagers.

There are conflicting stories as to how the song got it’s title.Berry has said that Maybellene was the name of a cow in a child’s nursery rhyme, but Johnny Johnson (1924-2005) who played the piano on the track has said that on spotting a ‘Maybelline’ mascara box on the floor of the studio Leonard Chess said,’Well hell, lets name the damn thing Maybellene,’ altering the spelling to avoid a law suit by the cosmetic company.

‘As I was motivatin’ over the hill, I saw Maybellene in a Coup de Ville. A Cadillac a rollin’ on the open road, nothin’ will outrun my V8 Ford.’