Maybellene

"Maybellene"
Single by Chuck Berry
B-side	"Wee Wee Hours"
Released	July 1955 (1955-07)
Format	7" 45rpm, 10" 78rpm
Recorded	May 21, 1955 at Chess Records, Chicago
Genre	Rock and Roll
Length	2 min 22 s
Label	Chess 1604 (US)
Producer	Leonard Chess
Chuck Berry singles chronology
-- "Maybellene" (1955) "Thirty Days" (1955)

"Maybellene" is a song recorded by Chuck Berry, modeled after songwriter Russ Fratto's original fiddle tune "Ida Red" that tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single on Chess Records of Chicago, Illinois.^[1] It was Berry's first single release, and his first hit. "Maybellene" is considered one of the pioneering rock and roll singles: Rolling Stone magazine said, "Rock & roll guitar starts here."^[2] The record is an early instance of the complete rock and roll package: youthful subject matter, small guitar-driven combo, clear diction, and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement.

In 1955, the song, a 12-bar blues, peaked at number five on the Billboard rock charts, and was a number one R&B hit ^[3]. Berry was the first African American single artist to reach the top ten on the Billboard list with a rock and roll single. In 2004, "Maybellene" was ranked number 18 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.^[4] In 1999, National Public Radio included it in the "NPR 100," the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century as chosen by NPR music editors.^[5] "Maybelline" is currently ranked as the 81st greatest song of all time, as well as the second best song of 1955, by Acclaimed Music.^[6]

The title is often misspelled as Maybelline, even on some of Berry's own compilation CDs. That spelling is used by a popular cosmetics line. Berry had worked as a hairdresser prior to beginning his musical career.

Co-composers

In the 1950s, some record companies assigned co-composer credits to disc jockeys and others who helped "break" a record, a form of "payola" via composer royalties. This accounts for disk jockey Alan Freed receiving co-writer credit for "Maybellene". Russ Fratto, who had been loaning money to Chess, also received credit. ^[7] The Freed and Fratto credits were later withdrawn.

"Ida Red" and "Maybellene"

According to some sources, the song was originally recorded by Bob Wills in 1938 under the title "Ida Red" and was written by Russ Frato. "Ida Red" is a traditional American fiddle tune dating back to the 19th century, and has been recorded numerous times (and in numerous arrangements) from as early as 1924. Wills' 1938 version was substantially more than a fiddle tune. It included piano, steel guitar, and the unprecedented use of drums in a "country" song. It is this 1938 version that is cited as Berry's model for both for his own version of "Ida Red" and the "Maybellene" that was recorded.^[8][9]

Piano player Johnnie Johnson says that he and Berry rewrote the song at the suggestion of Leonard Chess: "It was an old fiddle tune called 'Ida Red.' I changed the music and re-arranged it, Chuck re-wrote the words, and the rest, as they say, was history. Leonard Chess asked me to come up to record it live. At that time, someone else already had a song out by the same name, so we had to change our version. We noticed a mascara box in the corner, so we changed the name to 'Maybellene.'"^[10]

Cover versions

Allmusic lists cover versions by more than 70 performers, including Elvis Presley, Simon and Garfunkel in a medley with "Kodachrome", George Jones, Carl Perkins, Bubba Sparks, Foghat, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Johnny Rivers and Chubby Checker.^[11]

In 1955 the Brownie McGhee Sextet recorded "Anna Mae" which was a double-time rewrite of Maybellene. It can be found on the four-disc compilation "Stompin' at the Savoy: The Original Indie-Label 1944-1961."

"Maybellene" is Steve Howe's first released single (1964) with his band The Syndicats.

In 1972, Foghat recorded a cover of the song.

In June 2007 the punk rock group Social Distortion released a cover version of the song as a bonus track on their Greatest Hits album. The track is only available via the Apple Inc iTunes Store

In Popular Culture

The song was referenced in the animated feature film Heavy Traffic in which the main character Michael and his girlfriend Carole listen to a drunken musician as he sings the song, the scene then switches to an underground-style animation sequence in which the song is parodied with stereotypes of African-American people. This unusual and much-admired sequence was done entirely by noted animator Mark Kausler.

Song's plot also featuring as sub-plot in George Lucas American Graffiti movie about events appearing in 1962.

References

1. ^ Dietmar Rudolph. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Chess Era (1955-1966)". http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/chessupto1966.html. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
2. ^ "Maybellene". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595863/maybellene. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 55. 
4. ^ "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs. 
5. ^ "NPR 100". National Public Radio (NPR). http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/100print.html. 
6. ^ "Acclaimed Music Top 3000 songs". 27 May 2009. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net. 
7. ^ Palmer, Robert (1995). Rock & Roll: An Unruly History. pp. 137–138. 
8. ^ "Bob Wills". http://www.famoustexans.com/bobwills.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
9. ^ "NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Two Country Giants Get Musical Tributes". Country Music Television (CMT). http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1536306/07132006/wills_bob.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
10. ^ "Johnnie Johnson". http://www.onlinetalent.com/Johnnie_Johnson.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
11. ^ "Maybellene". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:960156. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 

External links

• Chuck Berry Collector's Guide - The Chess Era (1955-1966)
• Chuck Berry at Encyclopedia FunTrivia