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Let It Rock (Chuck Berry song)

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"Let It Rock"
Single by Chuck Berry
from the album Rockin' at the Hops
B-side"Too Pooped to Pop"[1]
Released1960 (1960)
RecordedJuly 1959[2]
GenreRock and roll
Length2:28
LabelChess
Songwriter(s)Chuck Berry[3]
Producer(s)Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
Chuck Berry singles chronology
"Broken Arrow"
(1959) 		"Let It Rock"
(1960) 		"Bye Bye Johnny"
(1960)

"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.[4] Chess later added it to Berry's album Rockin' at the Hops (1960).[2] In 1963, Pye Records released it as a single in the UK, where it reached number six.[5]

"Let It Rock" was recorded by Berry on guitar and vocal, with long-time backing musicians Johnnie Johnson on piano, Willie Dixon on double bass, and Fred Below on drums.[2]

In a song review for AllMusic, critic Matthew Greenwald called it a "rock & roll masterpiece ... Utilizing the same geographic images as 'Roll Over Beethoven' and 'Johnny B Goode,' (among others), Chuck Berry creates an atmosphere that is definitive rock & roll poetry".[6]

Renditions

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A live version of "Let It Rock" was recorded by the Rolling Stones during a performance in Leeds, England, in 1971. Described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "cooking" and "fiery", the recording was included as the B-side of "Brown Sugar" in the UK in 1971, it was also released on the Spanish issue of the Sticky Fingers (1971) album (as a replacement for the song "Sister Morphine", which was banned by Francisco Franco's regime)[7] and later on the compilations Rarities 1971–2003 (2005) and The Singles 1971–2006 (2011).[8][9] A later performance of "Let It Rock" opens the concert video The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live in Texas '78 (2011). The B-side "Too Pooped to Pop" was released as a single by New Zealand band the La De Da's in 1974, which peaked at No. 26 on the Go-Set National Top 40 in Australia.[10]

In December 1975, a live version of "Let It Rock" was recorded by Australian band Skyhooks during a performance in Melbourne. Released as a single with live versions of "Revolution" and "Saturday Night" as the B-side, the song peaked at number 26 in Australia.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Too Pooped to Pop" was subtitled "Casey" (in quotes) on the original single.
  2. ^ a b c Altman, Billy (1998). Chuck Berry: The Chess Box (Box set booklet). Chuck Berry. Universal City, California: Chess Records/MCA Records. pp. 26, 30. CHD3-80.001.
  3. ^ The original Chess single listed the songwriter as "E. Anderson"; Berry's full name was "Charles Edward Anderson Berry".
  4. ^ "Chart History: Chuck Berry Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  5. ^ "Chuck Berry – Singles". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Chuck Berry: 'Let It Rock' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  7. ^ "Rolling Stones – Spanish 1st Pressing "Sticky Fingers" LP With Alternate Cover". Recordmecca. 5 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Rolling Stones: Rarities 1971–2003 – Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Rolling Stones: The Singles: 1971–2006 – Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  10. ^ Nimmervoll, Ed (27 July 1974). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 277. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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