| "Too Much Monkey Business" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Chuck Berry | ||||
| from the album After School Session | ||||
| B-side | "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" | |||
| Released | September 1956[1] | |||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM, 10" 78 RPM | |||
| Recorded | April 16, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois[2] | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues, Rock and Roll | |||
| Length | 2:56 | |||
| Label | Chess 1635[1][2] | |||
| Writer(s) | Chuck Berry | |||
| Producer | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess[2] | |||
| Chuck Berry singles chronology | ||||
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"Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and performed by rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. It was released as Chuck's fifth single in September 1956 for Chess Records, and appeared as the third track on Chuck's first solo LP, After School Session in May 1957, as well as the EP of the same name.[1] The song reached #4 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart in 1956.[3]
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"Too Much Monkey Business" was recorded on April 16, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois. The session was produced by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, and backing Berry (vocals, guitar) were Johnnie Johnson (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), and Fred Below (drums).[2]
Elvis Presley recorded a cover of the song during a warm-up at the sessions for Stay Away, Joe[4] and later released the song on Elvis Sings Flaming Star in 1969.
Many British Invasion bands recorded cover versions of "Too Much Monkey Business". The Beatles recorded their version of the song September 3, 1963, which then aired on the BBC Light Programme Pop Go the Beatles seven days later on September 10. The song was later released on Live at the BBC in 1994.[5] The Hollies used the song to open side two of their second LP, In The Hollies Style, in November 1964. The Yardbirds featuring Eric Clapton used the song to open up their performance at the Marquee Club, which was released on Five Live Yardbirds. The Kinks version on their self-titled debut album in 1964 was one of two Chuck Berry songs on the album, the other being "Beautiful Delilah". Eric Clapton did a cover version of this song on an album of the same name, released in 1984 on Astan records.[6] This album did not chart.[7]
The song was a heavy influence on Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues".[8] Punk rocker Johnny Thunders paid tribute to this song through his song titled "Too Much Junkie Business," which is a mix of "Pills" by Bo Diddley, and "Too Much Monkey Business." KMFDM also honored this song in "Too Much," released on their 84–86 compilation album. This song also, in a way, influenced Michael Jackson's "Monkey Business" using the line "Too Much Monkey Business" in the hook of the song. This song was released on Michael Jackson's Ultimate Collection in 2004.
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