"Let It Rock" is a song written and recorded by

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

pioneer

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 de ...

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

released it as single, which reached number 64 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in February 1960. Chess later added it to Berry's album '' Rockin' at the Hops'' (1960). In 1963,

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

released it as a single in the UK, where it reached number six. "Let It Rock" was recorded by Berry on guitar and vocal, with long-time backing musicians Johnnie Johnson on piano,

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 ...

on double bass, and Fred Below on drums. In a song review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Matthew Greenwald called it a "rock & roll masterpiece... Utilizing the same geographic images as '

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 a ...

' and ' Johnny B Goode,' (among others), Chuck Berry creates an atmosphere that is definitive rock & roll poetry".

Renditions

A live version of "Let It Rock" was recorded by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

during a performance in Leeds, England, in 1971. Described by critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

as "cooking" and "fiery", the recording was included as the B-side of "

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

" 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) and later on the compilations '' Rarities 1971–2003'' (2005) and '' The Singles 1971–2006'' (2011). 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. 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.

References

{{authority control 1960 songs 1960 singles 1976 singles Skyhooks (band) songs Chess Records singles Mushroom Records singles Chuck Berry songs Songs written by Chuck Berry The Rolling Stones songs