St. Louis to Liverpool | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1964 | |||
Recorded | December 1957 – August 1964 | |||
Studio | Chess, Chicago | |||
Genre | Rock and roll | |||
Length | 31:34 | |||
Label | Chess | |||
Producer | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess | |||
Chuck Berry chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
St. Louis to Liverpool is the seventh studio album by the American musician Chuck Berry. Released in 1964 by Chess Records. It peaked at number 124 on the US Billboard album chart, the first of Berry's studio albums to appear on the chart. [2] Music critic Dave Marsh called St. Louis to Liverpool "one of the greatest rock & roll records ever made". [3]
On October 18, 1963, Berry was released from prison after having spent 20 months incarcerated owing to conviction on a charge under the Mann Act. [4] During his time in prison, emerging rock groups had found inspiration in his work. The Beach Boys had based their number 3 hit single "Surfin' U.S.A." on his "Sweet Little Sixteen"; the Beatles had included "Roll Over Beethoven" on their second American album; [5] the debut single in the United Kingdom by the Rolling Stones was their cover of "Come On", and they had included "Carol" on their first American album, England's Newest Hitmakers . [6]
Wishing to capitalize on his popularity during the British Invasion, Berry and Chess Records fashioned this album to appeal to young buyers. St. Louis to Liverpool includes four of the five charting singles he enjoyed in 1964, the final year he would have multiple records appearing on the Billboard Hot 100: "No Particular Place to Go", "You Never Can Tell", "Promised Land", and "Little Marie", a sequel to "Memphis, Tennessee". The additional eight tracks included the four B-sides of those singles; "Our Little Rendezvous", a B-side from 1960; a previously unreleased alternate take of his 1958 Christmas single "Merry Christmas Baby"; an instrumental outtake from a 1950s session; and "Liverpool Drive", a recent instrumental.
On April 13, 2004, the Chronicles division of the Universal Music Group remastered the album for CD with three bonus tracks as part of its 50th anniversary commemorative of Chess Records, including "O'Rangutang", the flip side of the fifth of his 1964 charting singles "Nadine (Is It You?)", and a track that had appeared on the 1990 rarities album Missing Berries. In 2008, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album with Berry Is on Top on an Ultradisc II Gold compact disc.
All tracks are written by Chuck Berry except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Little Marie" | 2:37 |
2. | "Our Little Rendezvous" | 2:03 |
3. | "No Particular Place to Go" | 2:44 |
4. | "You Two" | 2:11 |
5. | "Promised Land" | 2:24 |
6. | "You Never Can Tell" | 2:43 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Go Bobby Soxer" | 2:59 | |
2. | "Things I Used to Do" | Eddie Jones | 2:42 |
3. | "Liverpool Drive" (instrumental) | 2:56 | |
4. | "Night Beat" (instrumental) | 2:46 | |
5. | "Merry Christmas Baby" | Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore | 3:14 |
6. | "Brenda Lee" | 2:15 | |
Total length: | 31:34 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "Fraulein" | Lawton Williams | 2:51 |
14. | "O'Rangutang" (Instrumental) | 3:02 | |
15. | "The Little Girl from Central" (Early version of "Sweet Little Sixteen") | 2:39 | |
Total length: | 40:06 |
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1965 | Billboard Pop Albums | 124 [2] |
Year | Single | Chart | Position [7] |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | "Little Marie" | Billboard Hot 100 | 54 |
1964 | "No Particular Place to Go" | Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
1964 | "You Never Can Tell" | Billboard Hot 100 | 14 |
1965 | "Promised Land" | Billboard Hot 100 | 41 |
"Johnny B. Goode" is a song by American musician Chuck Berry, written and sung by Berry in 1958. Released as a single in 1958, it peaked at number two on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart. The song remains a staple of rock music.
"Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. Many artists later recorded the tune, including the Beatles in 1963 and the Flying Lizards in 1979.
"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.
The Great Twenty-Eight is a compilation album by American musician Chuck Berry, released in 1982 on Chess Records. In 2003, the album was ranked number 21 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, the second-highest ranking compilation on the list after The Sun Sessions by Elvis Presley. It was ranked number 51 in the 2020 reboot of the list.
"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to be as respected as classical music. The song has been covered by many other artists, including the Beatles and the Electric Light Orchestra. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 97 on its 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Made in the Shade, released in 1975, is the third official compilation album by the Rolling Stones, and the first under their Atlantic Records contract. It covers material from Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974).
Five by Five is the second EP by the Rolling Stones and was released in 1964. Captured during a prolific spurt of recording activity at Chess Studios in Chicago that June, Five by Five was released that August in the UK shortly after their debut album, The Rolling Stones, had appeared. The title of Five by Five is a play on words—five tracks recorded by a band with five members.
Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) is the first compilation album by the Rolling Stones. With different cover art and track listings, it was released on 28 March 1966, on London Records in the US and on 4 November 1966, by Decca Records in the UK.
After School Session is the debut studio album by rock and roll artist Chuck Berry, released in May 1957 by Chess Records. With the exception of two tracks, "Roly Poly" and "Berry Pickin'", all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles. It is the second long-playing album released by the Chess label.
Anthology is a two-disc compilation album by American rock and roll musician Chuck Berry released on July 27, 2000, by Chess Records. It duplicates in its entirety the previous anthology The Great Twenty-Eight ranked at No. 21 on the Rolling Stone 500 greatest all time albums list, as well as the entirety of the later Definitive Collection issued in 2006 as part of the Universal series. The album was later reissued and packaged in 2005 as part of the Universal Records Gold series, and simply retitled Gold. It charted at No. 110 in the UK Albums Chart.
Berry Is on Top is the third studio album by rock and roll artist Chuck Berry, released in July 1959 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1435. With the exception of one track, "Blues for Hawaiians", all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles, several of which were double-sided and charted twice. In his review of the album for AllMusic, Cub Koda described it as "almost a mini-greatest-hits package in and of itself" and the most perfectly realized collection of Berry's career. In 2008, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album with St. Louis to Liverpool on an Ultradisc II Gold compact disc. In 2012, Hoodoo reissued the album with One Dozen Berrys on the same CD.
Rockin' at the Hops is the fourth studio album by rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry, released in July 1960 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1448. With the exception of four tracks, "Down the Road a Piece," "Confessin' the Blues," "Betty Jean," and "Driftin' Blues," all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles.
Chuck Berry in London is the eighth studio album by Chuck Berry, released in 1965 by Chess Records. Only eight of the tracks were actually recorded in London with the UK R&B group The 5 Dimensions, in January, 1965. Five other tracks were recorded in Chicago in December, 1964 with the Jules Blattner Group. The remaining track, "Night Beat" was left over from a 1957 session. "I Want to Be Your Driver," which later appeared as the final track on The Great Twenty-Eight, is based on "Me and My Chaffeur Blues" by Memphis Minnie.
Howlin' Wolf is the second album from the Chicago blues singer/guitarist/harmonicist, Howlin' Wolf. It is a collection of twelve singles previously released by the Chess label from 1960 through 1962. Because of the illustration on its sleeve, the album is often called The Rockin' Chair Album, a nickname even added to the cover on some reissue pressings of the LP.
Chuck Berry Twist is the first compilation album by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in February 1962, during Berry's imprisonment. The title was an attempt to capitalize on a new dance craze, the Twist, introduced by Chubby Checker in 1960, even though none of the songs musically conformed to the Twist style. The album was reissued a year later with a new title, More Chuck Berry. An album with that title was released in the UK by Pye International Records in 1964, featuring the same cover but a completely different track listing.
"Memphis, Tennessee", sometimes shortened to "Memphis", is a song by Chuck Berry, first released in 1959. In the UK, the song charted at number 6 in 1963; at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, which also became a UK Top 20 hit single. Johnny Rivers's version of the song was a number two US hit in 1964.
"Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in September 1956 as his fifth single. It was also released as the third track on his first solo LP, After School Session, in May 1957; and as an EP. The single reached number four on Billboard magazine's Most Played R&B In Juke Boxes chart, number 11 on the Most Played R&B by Jockeys chart and number seven on the R&B Top Sellers in Stores chart in the fall of 1956.
Soul '69 is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin; released in 1969 by Atlantic Records, the album features cover material. The album charted at number 1 on Billboard's R&B albums chart and at number 15 on Billboard's Top Albums, but launched two largely unsuccessful singles, "Tracks of My Tears", which reached number 21 on "Black Singles" and number 71 on "Pop Singles", and "Gentle on My Mind", which charted at number 50 and number 76 respectively. The album was re-released on compact disc through Rhino Records in the 1990s.
"Let It Rock" is a song written and recorded by rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. Chess Records released it as single, which reached number 64 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1960. Chess later added it to Berry's album Rockin' at the Hops (1960). In 1963, Pye Records released it as a single in the UK, where it reached number six.
The Chess Box is a compact disc box set compilation by Chuck Berry. It is one in a series of box sets issued by MCA/Chess in the late 1980s. The Chuck Berry set is the most prominent of these, having won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album in 1989. Berry's Chess Box was reissued on vinyl in 1990.