''After School Session'' is the debut studio album by

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

artist

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, released in May 1957 by Chess Records. With the exception of two tracks, "Roly Poly" and "Berry Pickin'", all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles. It is the second long-playing album released by the Chess label.

Recording sessions

The songs on ''After School Session'' were taken from Berry's first five sessions for

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

and

Phil Chess Philip Chess (born Fiszel Czyż; March 27, 1921 – October 18, 2016) was a Polish-born American record producer and company executive, the co-founder with his brother of Chess Records. Early life Chess was born to a Polish-Jewish family in the ...

, which took place at

Universal Recording Corporation Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment. Universal Recording was seminal ...

in Chicago. "Wee Wee Hours" was the first to be recorded, on May 21, 1955. "Together (We'll Always Be)" was recorded in September 1955. At the next session, on December 20, 1955, Berry recorded "Roly Poly" (also known as "Rolli Polli"), "No Money Down", "Berry Pickin'", and "Down Bound Train". The third session was on April 16, 1956, when he recorded "Too Much Monkey Business", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", and "Drifting Heart". "Havana Moon" was recorded on October 29, 1956. The last session took place on January 21, 1957, when he recorded "School Days" and "Deep Feeling".

Release

The album was released in May 1957 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1426. It is the second long-playing album released by the label.

Singles

The first song on the original version of ''After School Session'' to be released was "

Wee Wee Hours "Wee Wee Hours" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1955. Originally released as the B-side of his first single, " Maybellene", it went on to become a hit, reaching number 10 in the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. The song is a twelve-bar ...

", the B-side of "

Maybellene "Maybellene" is a rock and roll song. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, adapted in part from the Western swing fiddle tune " Ida Red". Berry's song told the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance, the lyrics describing ...

", issued in July 1955. It peaked at number 10 on '' Billboard'' magazine's

R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. The next song to be released was "Together We Will Always Be", the B-side of "Thirty Days", in September 1955. The next two songs released were "No Money Down" backed with "Down Bound Train", in December 1955, the former peaking at number 8 on the R&B Singles chart. In May 1956, "Drifting Heart" was released as the B-side of "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classi ...

". Berry's next single, "

Too Much Monkey Business "Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in September 1956 as his fifth single. It was also released as the third track on his first solo LP, ''After School Session'', in May 1957; and a ...

" backed with " Brown Eyed Handsome Man", was released in September 1956; these songs reached number 4 and number 5 on the R&B Singles chart, respectively. "Havana Moon", the B-side of "

You Can't Catch Me "You Can't Catch Me" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released as a single in 1956. Background The song's lyrics describe racing a souped-up "air-mobile" down the New Jersey Turnpike, then unfolding its wings and taking off. At the ...

", was released in November 1956. The last single from the album to be released was " School Day (Ring Ring Goes the Bell)" backed with "Deep Feeling", in March 1957, with the former reaching number 1 on the R&B Singles chart and number 3 on the Hot 100.

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

– steel guitar on "Deep Feeling",

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Johnnie Johnson –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Willie Dixon – bass *

Fred Below Frederick Below, Jr. (September 6, 1926 – August 13, 1988) was an American blues drummer, best known for his work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic struc ...

– drums * L. C. Davis –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

on "Too Much Monkey Business" and "Drifting Heart" * Jasper Thomas – drums * Ebby Hardy – drums * Otis Spann – piano *

Jimmy Rogers Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and recorded several pop ...

– guitar *

Jerome Green Jerome Green (c.1934 – c.1973) was an American percussionist and occasional lyricist and vocalist, known for playing maracas and acting as Bo Diddley's foil in his performances and on his recordings in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography G ...

–

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

s on "Maybellene"

Technical

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...

– producer *

– producer * Andy McKaie – reissue producer * Erick Labson –

digital remastering Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

* Vartan – art direction * Don Snowden –

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chuck Berry albums 1957 debut albums Chess Records albums Albums produced by Phil Chess Albums produced by Leonard Chess