Chuck Berry - Discography, 1956-59

Because singles were king in the 1950s, not much consideration was made when assembling albums of rock 'n' roll and pop acts. At the time, albums were usually just another way to make some cash on mostly already-released songs. Chuck Berry's LP discography was no different, and it's quite frankly a mess.

Chuck signed with Chess Records in 1955, and he recorded his first single, "Maybellene" b/w "Wee Wee Hours" that year. Chuck's first album was After School Session, the title of which is kind of ironic because not all the songs were recorded during the same session, or even the same year. In fact, After School Session was released in May 1957, and by that time Chuck had recorded some 22 songs. And he would go into the studio that month and record five more.

All the Chuck Berry albums released in the 1950s are a mix of various sessions, and some songs that were recorded during this time sat in the vault for decades before being released. So what I've done here is take all the songs Chuck recorded in the 1950s, and reorganize them with albums that could have been released and would have better reflected the recording sessions and the times.


HERE IS CHUCK BERRY
His three recording sessions in 1955 produced 11 songs, enough for an album on its own that could have been released in early 1956. Since this would have been a debut album, I chose to call it Here is Chuck Berry. I found an existing cover for a Berry compilation album and redid it a bit in Photoshop.

SIDE A
1. Maybellene
2. Thirty Days
3. I've Changed
4. Wee Wee Hours
5. Roly Poly

SIDE B
1. No Money Down
2. You Can't Catch Me
3. Berry Pickin'
4. Together We Will Always Be
5. Down Bound Train


AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
Chuck also recorded 11 songs in 1956 over the course of three recording sessions. Among the tunes recorded was "School Days," which gives us a good enough reason to use the After School Session title and original artwork. The original album's first three tracks remain the same here, but then it changes quite a bit. In all, the original and this remake share six of the 11 songs. I wish there was a better title for "Untitled Instrumental," but it appears it was never properly named.

SIDE A
1. School Days
2. Deep Feeling
3. Too Much Monkey Business
4. La Juanda (Espanola)
5. Blue Feeling

SIDE B
1. Roll Over Beethoven
2. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
3. Untitled Instrumental
4. Havana Moon
5. Low Feeling
6. Drifting Heart


ONE DOZEN BERRYS
Chuck recorded a dozen songs during two recording sessions in 1957, providing us with another full album. Below is a reorganized One Dozen Berrys (using existing cover) that could have been issued in early 1958. Like the previous entry, the original One Dozen Berrys and this re-imagined album share six songs.

SIDE A
1. Sweet Little Sixteen
2. Thirteen Question Method
3. How High the Moon
4. Rockin' the Philharmonic
5. Oh, Baby Doll
6. Guitar Boogie

SIDE B
1. Reelin' n Rockin'
2. Night Beat
3. Rock and Roll Music
4. How You've Changed
5. Time Was
6. Chuckwalk


CHUCK BERRY IS ON TOP
Chuck's first recording session of 1958 included his trademark hit, "Johnny B. Goode." In three sessions in January, February and June, 11 songs were recorded. Again, below is an existing album that has been reorganized track-wise to better reflect what Chuck was recording at the time. I use the existing cover (boy, they really loved the pun on his name). The original album and this new version share nine of the 11 songs.

SIDE A
1. Oh Yeah
2. Carol
3. Beautiful Delilah
4. House of Blue Lights
5. Vacation Time
6. Johnny B. Goode

SIDE B
1. It Don't Take But a Few Minutes
2. In-Go
3. Around and Around
4. Hey Pedro
5. Blues for Hawaiians


BACK IN THE U.S.A.
1958 was a prolific recording year for Chuck. There are enough tracks to create an all-new album when added to newer 1959 recordings to close out the decade. I created a simple cover with a nice portrait I found on the web and added the name, title and Chess logo.

SIDE A
1. Back in the U.S.A.
2. Do You Love Me
3. Little Queenie
4. That's My Desire
5. Anthony Boy
6. Memphis, Tennessee

SIDE B
1. Almost Grown
2. Blue on Blue
3. Jo Jo Gunne
4. Fast B 6
5. Sweet Little Rock and Roller


LET IT ROCK
Chuck's final recording session of the '50s was in July 1959. Only eight songs were recorded, enough for a very short album—more like an EP. But if you consider this to be an end-of-year release (just in time for holiday shopping), you could include the two Christmas songs Chuck recorded for a single the previous year. I found this cover for a compilation album and modified it.

SIDE A
1. Let It Rock
2. County Line
3. I Just Want to Make Love to You
4. One O'Clock Jump
5. Too Pooped to Pop

SIDE B
1. Betty Jean
2. Childhood Sweetheart
3. Broken Arrow
4. Merry Christmas Baby
5. Run Rudolph Run

So, the final count for Chuck's 1950s discography is three reorganized albums and three new ones. I will tackle Chuck's 1960-66 Chess discography in a future blog entry. Stay tuned.

NOTE:
 Information about Chuck Berry's recording sessions was provided by
    The Chuck Berry Database at http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/cbdb
    © 2018 by Dietmar Rudolph, Fred Rothwell, Morten Reff