1955 Songs: Maybellene

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Let’s face it: there are a lot of songs that are 70 years old that have long been forgotten. If you doubt that, look back at some of the songs I’ve used thus far! There are others, though, that are immortal…some because of their repeated return in popular culture (like “Love and Marriage” as a TV theme song) and some because of the dynamic impact they made. Here’s a prime example of the latter. Maybellene - Chuck Berry All of Chuck’s children are out there Playing his licks (Bob Seger) There were a lot of sonic booms in the world of music in 1955. Elvis is the one that most people point to. I mentioned how Johnny Cash’s “rock-billy” sound was different from what Carl Smith and Ray Price were doing at the same time. Then there’s Chuck. If ever anyone can be singularly credited with firing the musical shot heard ‘round the world, it’s Charles Edward Anderson Berry. The first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was done alphabetically, so that put Berry first. However, he’s first in order of importance as well. Here you have two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers meshed into one song. Berry said the initial genesis of this song was when he covered the Bob Wills (yes, Bob Wills is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an “early influence”) song “Ida Red.” Initially, Berry’s record label was interested in the notion of “a black man doing a hillbilly song” (something that had been going on for years at King Records in Cincinnati, but I digress), but thought that it was “too rural” to appeal to black audiences. So Berry just took the general “feel” of “Ida Red” and made a new song. And rock and roll was never the same again. Maybellene Written by Chuck Berry Recorded by Chuck Berry Released as a single, 1955 Nothin’ will outrun my V-8 Ford: