Chuck Berry discography
| Chuck Berry discography | |
|---|---|
 Berry in 1958 | |
| Studio albums | 20 |
| EPs | 8 |
| Soundtrack albums | 2 |
| Live albums | 12 |
| Compilation albums | 31 |
| Singles | 50 |
 |
American rock and roll musician Chuck Berry's discography includes 20 studio albums, 12 live albums, 31 compilation albums, 50 singles, 8 EPs, and 2 soundtrack albums.
Berry's recording career began in 1955, with the release of his single "Maybellene", and spanned a total of 62 years, although the latter 4 decades featured few or no releases. His most prolific and successful period spanned the 1950s and early 1960s, during which time he recorded for Chess. By 1960 he had released most of his hits, including "Maybellene", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Sweet Little Sixteen", and "Johnny B. Goode". Legal troubles, resulting in his imprisonment in 1961, caused a reduction in his output, but his release in 1963, combined with an interest in his songs thanks to the British invasion, rejuvenated his career. By the time Berry left Chess in 1966, he had released 36 singles, 5 EPs, and 12 albums, including the fake live album, Chuck Berry On Stage and 2 compilation albums, as well as having featured in the soundtrack album for the film Rock, Rock, Rock!.
Berry subsequently signed to Mercury Records, where he stayed until 1970. During his tenure at Mercury, he released 5 albums, including his first real live album, as well as 5 singles, before he returned to Chess, where he released a further 5 singles and albums each, including The London Chuck Berry Sessions, which became his best-selling album, supported by his only #1 single, "My Ding-a-Ling". After his release from Chess in 1975, Berry's releases became sporadic, briefly recording for Atco in 1979, resulting in his final studio album released during his life, Rockit. His final, posthumous, studio album was 2017's Chuck.
Berry's discography includes a large amount of unofficial live albums, as he performed without being signed to any label for most of his latter years, as well as a number of re-packaged or unofficial compilation albums, owing to Chess Records complicated ownership history.
Overseas, Berry's discography differed from that in the US, most notably in the UK, where his early work was released mostly by London Records until 1960, then Pye Records until 1965, before being issued directly by Chess or Mercury. This resulted in a number of exclusive British EP releases on the one hand, and a number of unissued LPs and singles on the other.
In the US, Berry saw a total of 25 charting singles and 4 charting B-sides, as well as 5 charting albums. Of these, 2 singles have been certified Platinum by the RIAA, as well as 1 Gold single and 1 Gold album.
Albums
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Title | Album details[1][2][3] | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
CAN [5] |
FRA [6] |
GER [7] |
NL [8] |
SWI [9] |
UK [10] | |||
| After School Session | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| One Dozen Berrys |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Berry Is on Top |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Rockin' at the Hops |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| New Juke Box Hits |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Two Great Guitars (with Bo Diddley) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| St. Louis to Liverpool |
|
124 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry in London |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Fresh Berry's |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry's Golden Hits |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry in Memphis |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| From St. Louie to Frisco |
|
185 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Concerto in B. Goode |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Back Home |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| San Francisco Dues |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The London Chuck Berry Sessions | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Bio |
|
175 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Rock It |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Chuck |
|
49 | — | 39 | 31 | 61 | 14 | 9 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||
Live albums
[edit]| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
CAN [5] |
UK [10] | |||
| Chuck Berry on Stage |
|
29 | — | 6 | |
| Live at the Fillmore Auditorium |
|
— | — | — | |
| The London Chuck Berry Sessions |
|
8 | 6 | — | |
| Chuck Berry Live in Concert |
|
— | — | — | |
| Alive and Rockin' |
|
— | — | — | |
| Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969 Vol. II |
|
— | — | — | |
| Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969 Vol. III |
|
— | — | — | |
| Live! |
|
— | — | — | |
| Live on Stage |
|
— | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry – In Concert |
|
— | — | — | |
| Rockin' Rollin' New Year's Eve[12] |
|
—[a] | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
Compilation albums
[edit]| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
FRA [6] |
SWI [9] |
UK [10] | |||
| Chuck Berry Twist |
|
— | — | — | 12 | |
| More Chuck Berry |
|
— | — | — | 9 | |
| Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits |
|
34 | — | — | — | |
| The Latest and the Greatest |
|
— | — | — | 8 | |
| You Never Can Tell |
|
— | — | — | 18 | |
| Chuck Berry's Golden Decade |
|
72 | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry's Golden Decade, Vol. 2 |
|
110 | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry's Golden Decade, Vol. 3 |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Motorvatin' |
|
— | — | — | 7 | |
| The Great Twenty-Eight |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Motive Series |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Chess Masters |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Rock 'n' Roll Rarities |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| More Rock 'n' Roll Rarities | — | — | — | — | ||
| The Best of the Best of Chuck Berry |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| The Chess Box |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Missing Berries: Rarities, Vol. 3 |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| The Collection |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| 36 All-Time Greatest Hits |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Let It Rock |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| The Best of Chuck Berry |
|
— | — | — | 116 | |
| Guitar Legends (with Bo Diddley) |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| His Best, Vol. 1 |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| His Best, Vol. 2 |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| The Best of Chuck Berry |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| 20th Century Masters: The Best of Chuck Berry |
|
134 | — | — | — | |
| Anthology |
|
— | 175 | 48 | 110 | |
| The Ultimate Collection |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Blues |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Chuck Berry |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| The Definitive Collection |
|
33 | — | 75 | — | |
| Johnny B. Goode: His Complete '50s Chess Recordings |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| You Never Can Tell: His Complete Chess Recordings 1960–1966 |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Have Mercy: His Complete Chess Recordings 1969–1974 |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Rock And Roll Music – Any Old Way You Choose It - The Complete Studio Recordings... Plus! |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Soundtrack albums
[edit]| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Rock, Rock, Rock! | |
| Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll |
|
EPs
[edit]| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| After School Session | |
| Rock and Roll Music |
|
| Sweet Little 16 |
|
| Pickin' Berries |
|
| Sweet Little Rock and Roller |
|
| Chuck Berry |
|
| This Is Chuck Berry |
|
| The Best of Chuck Berry |
|
| Berry Christmas |
|
Singles
[edit]| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [15][16] |
US R&B [15][17] |
CAN [5] |
FRA [6] |
GER [7] |
NL [8] |
NOR [18] |
SWI [9] |
UK [10] | ||||
| 1955 | "Maybellene" "Wee Wee Hours" |
5 — |
1 10 |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
Rock, Rock, Rock!
| |
| "Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)" b/w "Together (We Will Always Be)" |
— | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rock, Rock, Rock!
After School Session | ||
| 1956 | "No Money Down" b/w "The Downbound Train" |
— | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | After School Session | |
| "Roll Over Beethoven" b/w "Drifting Heart" |
29 | 2 | — | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | Rock, Rock, Rock!
After School Session | ||
| "Too Much Monkey Business" b/w "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" |
— | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | After School Session | ||
| "You Can't Catch Me" b/w "Havana Moon" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rock, Rock, Rock!
After School Session | ||
| 1957 | "School Days (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)" b/w "Deep Feeling" |
3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | After School Session | |
| "Oh Baby Doll" b/w "Lajaunda" |
57 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | One Dozen Berrys | ||
| "Rock and Roll Music" b/w "Blue Feeling" |
8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1958 | "Sweet Little Sixteen" b/w "Reelin' and Rockin'" |
2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | ||
| "Johnny B. Goode" b/w "Around and Around" |
8 | 2 | — | 73 | — | — | — | 83 | — | Berry Is on Top | ||
| "Beautiful Delilah" b/w "Vacation Time" |
81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Carol" b/w "Hey Pedro" |
18 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Berry Is on Top | ||
| "Sweet Little Rock and Roller" "Joe Joe Gunne" |
47 83 |
13 — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
|||
| "Merry Christmas Baby" "Run Rudolph Run" |
71 10 |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— 54 |
— 36 |
Non-album single | ||
| 1959 | "Anthony Boy" b/w "That's My Desire" |
60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Berry Is on Top
Non-album track | |
| "Almost Grown" "Little Queenie" |
32 80 |
3 — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
Berry Is on Top | ||
| "Back in the U.S.A." "Memphis, Tennessee" |
37 — |
16 — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— 6 |
Non-album singles | ||
| "Broken Arrow" b/w "Childhood Sweetheart" |
108 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rockin' at the Hops | ||
| 1960 | "Let It Rock" "Too Pooped to Pop" |
64 42 |
18 — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
— — |
6 — | ||
| "Bye Bye Johnny" b/w "Worried Life Blues" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "I Got to Find My Baby" b/w "Mad Lad" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Jaguar and Thunderbird" b/w "Our Little Rendezvous" |
109 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single
| ||
| 1961 | "Little Star" b/w "I'm Talking About You" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | New Juke Box Hits | |
| "Go-Go-Go" b/w "Come On" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38 | Non-album singles | ||
| 1963 | "Diploma for Two" b/w "I'm Talking About You" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | New Juke Box Hits | |
| "Memphis" b/w "Surfin' USA" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chuck Berry on Stage | ||
| 1964 | "Nadine (Is It You?)" b/w "O Rangutang" |
23 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27 | Non-album singles | |
| "No Particular Place to Go" b/w "You Two" |
10 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | St. Louis to Liverpool | ||
| "You Never Can Tell" b/w "Brenda Lee" |
14 | - | 11 | — | — | 9 | — | — | 23 |
| ||
| "Chuck's Beat" b/w "Bo's Beat" (both by Chuck Berry & Bo Diddley) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Two Great Guitars | ||
| "Little Marie" b/w "Go, Bobby Soxer" |
54 | 30 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | St. Louis to Liverpool | ||
| "Promised Land" b/w "The Things I Used to Do" |
41 | 16 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | 26 | |||
| 1965 | "Dear Dad" b/w "Lonely School Days" |
95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chuck Berry in London
Non-album track | |
| "It Wasn't Me" b/w "Welcome Back Pretty Baby" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fresh Berry's | ||
| 1966 | "Ramona Say Yes" b/w "Lonely School Days" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single
| |
| "Club Nitty Gritty" b/w "Laugh and Cry" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chuck Berry's Golden Hits
Non-album track | ||
| 1967 | "Back to Memphis" b/w "I Do Really Love You" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chuck Berry in Memphis | |
| "Feelin' It" (with Miller Band) b/w "It Hurts Me Too" (with Miller Band) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live at the Fillmore Auditorium | ||
| 1968 | "Louie to Frisco" b/w "Ma Dear" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | From St. Louie to Frisco | |
| 1969 | "It's Too Dark in There" b/w "Good Looking Woman" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Concerto in "B Goode" | |
| 1970 | "Tulane" b/w "Have Mercy Judge" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Back Home | |
| 1972 | "My Ding-a-Ling" b/w "Johnny B. Goode" |
1 | 42 | 1 | — | 40 | 29 | 7 | — | 1 |
|
The London Chuck Berry Sessions |
| "Reelin' and Rockin'" b/w "Let's Boogie" |
27 | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | |||
| 1973 | "Bio" b/w "Roll 'Em Pete" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Bio
Non-album track | |
| 1975 | "Shake, Rattle and Roll" b/w "Baby What You Want Me to Do" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chuck Berry | |
| 1979 | "Oh What a Thrill" b/w "California" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rockit | |
| 2017 | "Big Boys" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chuck | |
| "Wonderful Woman" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Lady B. Goode" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||
Billboard did not publish a separate R&B singles chart in 1964. For this year only, R&B chart positions are from Cash Box magazine.[17]
Billboard Year-End performances
[edit]| Year | Song | Year-End Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | "School Days" | 22 |
| 1958 | "Sweet Little Sixteen" | 29 |
| 1972 | "My Ding-a-Ling" | 15 |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Rockin' Rollin' New Year's Eve did not enter the Billboard 200, but it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ Rudolph, Dietmar. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Chess Era (1955–1966)". Retrieved October 3, 2010.
- ^ Rudolph, Dietmar. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Mercury Era (1966–1969)". Retrieved October 3, 2010.
- ^ Rudolph, Dietmar. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Back-at-Chess Era (1969–1975)". Retrieved October 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Chuck Berry Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c RPM chart positions:
- The London Chuck Berry Sessions: "RPM 100 albums". RPM. Vol. 18, no. 12. November 4, 1972. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Discographie Chuck Berry". Les Charts (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b "Discographie von Chuck Berry". Offizielle Deutsche Charts (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b "Discografie Chuck Berry". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode [scroll down for album chart positions]". Hitparade (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Chuck Berry". Official Charts. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "American certifications – Chuck Berry". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "Chuck Berry – Rockin' Rollin' New Year's Eve". Record Store Day. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ "Chuck Berry Chart History – Blues Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "British certifications – Chuck Berry". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 28, 2024. Type Chuck Berry in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ a b "Chuck Berry Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1992). Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Pop Charts. Menomonie, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-092-8.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. Menomonie, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 0-8230-8283-0.
- ^ "Discography Chuck Berry". Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
