The 20 best Chuck Berry songs: From his breakout song to his biggest hits

Our picks for the most essential tracks by the Father of Rock & Roll.

In his 90 years, the legendary Chuck Berry recorded hundreds of songs, including 13 top 10 R&B hits and seven pop smashes.

Born Charles Edward Anderson Berry in 1926, the future Father of Rock & Roll worked the club circuit as a guitarist in his native St. Louis through the mid-1950s. A meeting with Muddy Waters in 1955 proved pivotal, with the blues singer putting him in contact with Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess, with whom Berry recorded "Maybellene," an adaptation of the song "Ida Red" that became a major smash.

It was off to the races from there, as Berry became a music sensation with multiple charting hits from "Johnny B. Goode" to "Reelin' and Rockin'," recording 19 studio albums through the late-1970s. His 20th album, Chuck, was released just a few months after his death in 2017, a poetic final chapter for an artist that influenced generations of musicians since the '50s.

Here's our list of Chuck Berry's 20 best songs in chronological order, all of which capture the heart of his talent and vision.

"Maybellene" (1955)

It all started here. In July 1955, "Maybellene" became Berry's first hit, as well as one of the first true rock & roll records. Like all such compositions, it's a fusion of country and R&B, this one with a melody adapted from "Ida Red," a 1938 Western swing song from Bob Will and His Texas Playboys. Berry greatly overhauled it with his unique twists on rhythm and blues.

In two minutes and 13 seconds, he managed to birth a riot of rock & roll touchstones, including the honking guitar cadenza at the start, the vamping vocal cadence in the verses, and a final wild solo every ax player in Berry's wake has nicked.

"Wee Wee Hours" (1955)

Flip "Maybellene" over and you'll find this lowdown blues grinder. A top 10 hit in its own right, "Wee Wee Hours" showcased the nuances in Berry's vocals, capturing equal parts longing and eroticism. The recording also gave a wide berth to pianist and frequent collaborator Johnnie Johnson, who used it to take a virtuoso turn.

"Roll Over Beethoven" (1956)

Emboldened by the success of "Maybellene," Berry fired off one of the most hilarious — and ballsy — salvos in pop history: "Roll over Beethoven/Tell Tchaikovsky the news." The message was that old notions of "classical music" have now been replaced by a new sound.

Berry still called it "rhythm and blues" in the lyrics, but any listener can tell he's playing stone-cold rock & roll — his volcanic guitar solo at the start has revolution in its soul. It's chaotic, skilled, and fated to be iconic. In the track's attitude, Berry didn't just advance rock & roll — he kind of created punk.

"Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (1956)

Berry did something complex and subversive with this 1956 B-side to "Too Much Monkey Business." In one lyric, he mentions the "whole lot of trouble" caused by a brown-eyed handsome man — i.e., an attractive Black man like Berry who appealed to women of every race. It's the fear of miscegenation Berry tapped into here, treating the subject with subtlety, wit, and determination.

"You Can't Catch Me" (1956)

Here, "Maybellene" gets another shout-out from the eagerly self-referential Berry. But there's more going on than mere brand extension: Berry turned the scenario in the earlier hit on its head. This time, he's the one who can't be caught in a speedy car. The galloping music captures his triumph. It's almost all vamp, elaborated by a burst of fast licks, as well as some of pianist Johnson's most animated runs. Extra points go to listeners who can pick out the lines later lifted by the Beatles in "Come Together."

"Rock and Roll Music" (1957)

In this salute to the style he helped pioneer, Berry makes special mention of the genre's "backbeat," the steady rhythm that never lets him (or the listener) down. There's a great example of it here, emphasized by Berry's even-toned vocal (in contrast to John Lennon's full-on shout in the Beatles' take). Johnson's piano eventually takes the lead, slipping and sliding until it encircles every other sound.

"Sweet Little Sixteen" (1958)

In this transgressive classic, Berry offers his ode to a schoolgirl who gets dolled up in high heels and lipstick, setting off waves of lust from "Philadelphia, P.A." to "the Frisco Bay." The stop-start rhythm gives the song tension, while the madcap keyboards, manned here by Lafayette Leake, match the lyrics in outrageousness. The song became the second biggest hit of Berry's career, shooting to No. 2 on the pop charts, a feat sadly beaten only by the silliest record of his career, 1972's "My Ding-A-Ling."

"Johnny B. Goode" (1958)

Berry got autobiographical in one of his most iconic songs, but changed one lyric from "colored boy" to "country boy" to avoid controversy. The guitar break remains one of the most quoted figures in rock, as does the single-note refrain. Together, they helped shoot the single to No. 8 on the pop chart, setting off a string of sequels from "Bye Bye Johnny" to "Go Go Go." The song has also endured in cinematic history for its placement in Back to the Future, even if the implication that a time-traveling high schooler inspired Berry to write the song kind of breaks our brains.

"Carol" (1958)

Originally the B-side to "Johnny B. Goode," this ditty worked off the same teasing riff, though the guitarist added an extended solo that showcased some of his subtlest twists. The way he bends the strings captures a wry leer as he pursues the elusive Carol. The song made an impact on the Rolling Stones, who included a cover of it on their 1964 debut album.

"Run Rudolph Run" (1958)

Berry isn't credited with writing this one — Johnny Marks had trademarked Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and is thus noted as the songwriter of this classic. But Berry owned the song by turning his "Johnny B. Goode" riff into a holiday perennial, which would be covered by everyone from Foo Fighters to Sheryl Crow to Hanson.

"Almost Grown" (1959)

The doo-wop backup vocals shared the spotlight with Berry's lead in this track. And no wonder: They were provided by Etta James and Harvey and the New Moonglows, a group that featured a young Marvin Gaye. The song got a new life in 1973 with its inclusion in George Lucas' American Graffiti and the film's hit soundtrack.

"Little Queenie" (1959)

Yes, it's the same melody and riff as "Rudolph," but what gives this record its own stamp is the "meanwhile, I'm still thinking" section, a spoken wink to the listener that's both sexy and camp. Berry would perform the song in multiple films, including Go, Johnny Go! (1959) and the Berry-focused documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987).

"Back in the U.S.A." (1959)

Berry's salute to his country didn't focus on the politics but on American culture, as well as the sheer physicality of its land. In this track, he calls out the skyscrapers, hamburgers, and jukeboxes of the nation, all backed by a rollicking rhythm. The song had a long shelf life, with the Beatles recording the cheeky parody "Back in the U.S.S.R." in 1968, while Linda Ronstadt released a hit cover of "Back in the U.S.A." in 1978.

"Memphis Tennessee" (1959)

Also known as "Memphis," this 1959 classic offered a smart lyrical plot twist: At first, the listener thinks the narrator is trying to reach a lover named Marie. However, it's later revealed that that's the name of his daughter, who's been snatched away by her mother. The music itself also has its own twists, from the questioning guitar line to the loping bass figure.

"Let It Rock" (1960)

Here's another cut that plays off Berry's patented "Johnny B. Goode" riff. The wrinkle comes in the sharp guitar licks, meant to echo the whistle of a train. The Rolling Stones recorded a live version of the song for a 1971 concert, which has been included on multiple compilations.

"Come On" (1961)

It didn't even make the lowest rung of the top 100, but "Come On" features some of Berry's most insistent singing. It benefits, too, from sister Martha Berry's backup vocals, which lend the song a bit of soul.

"I Got to Find My Baby" (1960)

A blues stomp penned by Peter Clayton, "I Got to Find My Baby" failed to chart but it offered a fine showcase for Berry's vocal growl. The track was first recorded by Peter Joe Clayton in 1941, with Berry's version among many covers, including by — you guessed it — the Beatles in 1963.

"No Particular Place to Go" (1964)

A dense plot informs this Berry chestnut from 1964. Set — where else? — in a car, the scenario finds its narrator kissing the object of his affection in various settings, hoping to go further. In the end, their sexual release gets messed up by, of all things, a malfunctioning seatbelt. It's the one song where Berry's car fetish undoes him.

"Promised Land" (1964)

The American landscape always inspired Berry, but seldom did he create as detailed a travelogue as the one in "Promised Land," inspired by the folk song "Wabash Cannonball." To match it, the beat chugs like a train, while the musician unleashes some of the fastest licks of his career.

"Reelin' and Rockin'" (1972 live version)

Berry first cut this ditty back in 1957 as a B-side to "Sweet Little Sixteen," but the live version from '72 gets more explicit about the sex, aided by a rhythm that kicks. The live track reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.