Berry Is On Top
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Berry Is On Top
''Berry Is on Top'' is the third studio album by rock and roll artist Chuck Berry, released in July 1959 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1435. With the exception of one track, "Blues for Hawaiians", all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles, several of which were double-sided and charted twice. In his review of the album for AllMusic, Cub Koda described it as "almost a mini-greatest-hits package in and of itself" and the most perfectly realized collection of Berry's career. In 2008, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album with ''St. Louis to Liverpool'' on an Ultradisc II Gold compact disc. In 2012, Hoodoo reissued the album with '' One Dozen Berrys'' on the same CD. Track listing Personnel * Chuck Berry – vocals, guitars * Johnnie Johnson, Lafayette Leake – piano * Willie Dixon – double bass * George Smith – bass * Fred Below, Ebbie Hardy, Jaspar Thomas – drums * Jerome Green – maracas * The Moonglows – backing vocals * Bob Bushnell – ...
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Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music (song), Rock and Roll Music" (1957), and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958). Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and developing a music style that included guitar guitar solo, solos and Guitar showmanship, showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent rock music.Campbell, M. (ed.) (2008). ''Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes On''. 3rd ed. Cengage Learning. pp. 168–169. Born into a middle-class black family in St. Louis, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School (St. Lou ...
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The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1979 and its last in 2004. First edition (1979) ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'' was the first edition of what would later become ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide''. It was edited by Dave Marsh (who wrote a large majority of the reviews) and John Swenson, and included contributions from 34 other music critics. It is divided into sections by musical genre and then lists artists alphabetically within their respective genres. Albums are also listed alphabetically by artist although some of the artists have their careers divided into chronological periods. Dave Marsh, in his Introduction, cites as precedents Leonard Maltin's book '' TV movies'' and Robert Christgau's review column in the '' Village Voice''. He gives '' Phonolog'' and ''Schwan ...
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Double Bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has four or five strings, and its construction is in between that of the gamba and the violin family. The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, along with violins, violas, and cellos,''The Orchestra: A User's Manual''
, Andrew Hugill with the Philharmonia Orchestra
as well as the concert band, and is featured in Double bass concerto, concertos, solo, and chamber music in European classical music, Western classical music.Alfred Planyavsky

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Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues. Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a generation of musicians wo ...
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Piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temperament. A musician who specializes in piano is called a pianist. There are two main types of piano: the #Grand, grand piano and the #Upupright piano. The grand piano offers better sound and more precise key control, making it the preferred choice when space and budget allow. The grand piano is also considered a necessity in venues hosting skilled pianists. The upright piano is more commonly used because of its smaller size and lower cost. When a key is depressed, the strings inside are struck by felt-coated wooden hammers. The vibrations are transmitted through a Bridge (instrument), bridge to a Soundboard (music), soundboard that amplifies the sound by Coupling (physics), coupling the Sound, acoustic energy t ...
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Lafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 – August 14, 1990) was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings. Biography Leake was born in Winona, Mississippi, in 1919. Information about his early years is sparse, but in the early 1950s he joined the Big Three Trio (replacing Leonard Caston) and began his association with Chess Records, where he worked closely with bassist, producer, and songwriter Willie Dixon. Leake played piano on '' One Dozen Berrys'', Chuck Berry's second album, released in 1958 by Chess. He was then on '' Berry Is on Top;'' Leake (not Berry's longtime bandmate Johnnie Johnson) played the prominent piano on the classic original rendition of "Johnny B. Goode", as well as "Rock and Roll Music". Leake played on numerous other Chess sessions from the 1950s thro ...
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Johnnie Johnson (musician)
Johnnie Clyde Johnson (July 8, 1924 – April 13, 2005) was an American pianist who played jazz, blues, and rock and roll. His work with Chuck Berry led to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for breaking racial barriers in the military as a Montford Point Marine, where he endured racism and inspired social change while integrating the previously all-white Marine Corps during World War II. Career Johnson was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, United States. He began playing the piano in 1928. During World War II, he joined the United States Marine Corps and became a member of Bobby Troup's all-serviceman jazz orchestra: the Barracudas. After his service, Johnson moved to Detroit and then Chicago, where he sat in with many notable artists, including Muddy Waters and Little Walter. Johnson moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1952; he immediately assembled a jazz and blues group called the Sir John Trio with the ...
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Guitars
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or Plucked string instrument, plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either Acoustics, acoustically, by means of a resonant hollow chamber on the guitar, or Amplified music, amplified by an electronic Pickup (music technology), pickup and an guitar amplifier, amplifier. The guitar is classified as a chordophone, meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood, with its strings made of catgut. Steel guitar strings were introduced near the end of the nineteen ...
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Vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singing as the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. Other common definitions include "the utterance of words or sounds in tuneful succession" or "the production of musical tones by means of the human voice". A person whose profession is singing is called a singer or a vocalist (in jazz or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir. Singers may perform as soloists or accompanied by anything from a single instrument (as in art songs or some jazz styles) up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Many styles of singing exist throughout the world. Singing can be forma ...
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Roll Over Beethoven
"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the A-side and B-side, B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to be as respected as classical music. The song has been covered by many other artists, including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles (both in 1963). ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked it number 97 on its 2004 list of the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Inspiration and lyrics According to ''Rolling Stone'' and Cub Koda of AllMusic, Berry wrote the song in response to his sister Lucy always using the family piano to play classical music when Berry wanted to play popular music. According to biographer Bruce Pegg, the song was "inspired in part by the rivalry between his sister Lucy's classical music training and Berry's own self-taught, rough-and-ready music preference". In addition to the classical ...
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Jo Jo Gunne (song)
"Jo Jo Gunne" is a rock song by Chuck Berry that appeared on his third album, ''Berry Is on Top''. Narrative The song's narrative focuses on a monkey who tricks a lion and an elephant into fighting each other, to the entertainment of the rest of the animals in the jungle. This story is inspired by an African American folktale called the Signifying monkey, which is itself derived from trickster figure in Yoruban mythology. Reception The American hard rock band Jo Jo Gunne and their self-titled album are named after the song. Rock guitarist Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ... gave his second son Tara "Jo Jo Gunne" as a middle name. References {{Chuck Berry Chuck Berry songs ...
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Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL or MoFi) is a record label that specialized in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats. History Recording engineer Brad Miller (1939–1998) released the first recordings on the Mobile Fidelity label in March 1958, a recording of a Southern Pacific steam locomotive. Later LPs included other steam trains, environmental sounds and orchestral music, and a few pop and orchestral recordings. In 1977 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs was founded and began releasing Original Master Recording LPs, using a half-speed mastering process. From 1985-1992, MoFi sourced recordings from the Soviet Union’s Melodiya Records archives. In November 1999, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab shut down after the bankruptcy of M. S. Distributing. In 2001 MFSL's assets were acquired by Jim Davis of Music Direct. Products LPs In 1977, Mobile Fidelity began to produce a line of recor ...
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