St. Louis to Liverpool

St. Louis to Liverpool
Studio album by Chuck Berry
Released	November 1964
Recorded	December 1957–August 1964, Chess Studios, Chicago
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	31:34
Label	Chess
Producer	Leonard Chess, Philip Chess
Chuck Berry chronology
Two Great Guitars - Bo Diddley & Chuck Berry (1964) St. Louis to Liverpool (1964) Chuck Berry in London (1965)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

St. Louis to Liverpool is a rock and roll album by Chuck Berry, released in 1964 on Chess Records, catalogue 1488. It peaked at #124 on the Billboard album chart.

Content

On October 18, 1963, Berry was released from prison after having spent 20 months incarcerated owing to conviction on a charge under the Mann Act.^[2] During his time in jail, emerging rock groups had found inspiration in his work. The Beach Boys had based their #3 hit single "Surfin' U.S.A." on his "Sweet Little Sixteen," the Beatles had included "Roll Over Beethoven" on their second American album for Capitol Records, and the debut single in the United Kingdom by the Rolling Stones was their cover of "Come On" while they included "Carol" on their first American album.

Wishing to capitalize on his popularity during the British Invasion, Berry and Chess Records fashioned this album as an appeal to younger buyers. St. Louis to Liverpool includes four of the five charting singles he enjoyed in 1964, the final year he would have multiple records appearing on the Billboard Hot 100: "No Particular Place to Go;" "You Never Can Tell;" "Promised Land;" and the sequel to "Memphis, Tennessee," "Little Marie." The additional eight tracks included the four b-sides to those singles, an additional b-side from 1960 "Our Little Rendezvous," the 1958 holiday single "Merry Christmas Baby," an instrumental outtake from a 1950s session, and the recent instrumental "Liverpool Drive."

On April 13, 2004, the Chronicles division of the Universal Music Group remastered the album for compact disc with three bonus tracks as part of their 50th anniversary commemorative of Chess Records. In 2008, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album again along with the compilation Chuck Berry Is on Top on an Ultradisc II Gold compact disc.

Track listing

All songs written by Chuck Berry except as indicated.

Side one

1. "Little Marie" — 2:37
2. "Our Little Rendezvous" — 2:03
3. "No Particular Place to Go" — 2:44
4. "You Two" — 2:11
5. "Promised Land" — 2:24
6. "You Never Can Tell" — 2:43

Side two

1. "Go Bobby Soxer" — 2:59
2. "Things I Used to Do" (Eddie Jones) — 2:42
3. "Liverpool Drive" — 2:56
4. "Night Beat" — 2:46
5. "Merry Christmas Baby" (Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore) — 3:14
6. "Brenda Lee" — 2:15

2004 bonus tracks

13. "Fraulein" — 2:51
14. "O Rangutang" — 3:02
15. "The Little Girl From Central" — 2:39

Personnel

• Chuck Berry — vocals, guitars
• Matt "Guitar" Murphy — electric guitar on "Our Little Rendezvous"
• Johnnie Johnson — piano on "Our Little Rendezvous," "You Never Can Tell," "Things I Used to Do," "Merry Christmas Baby," "Fraulein," O Rangutang," and "The Little Girl from Central"
• Lafayette Leake — piano on "Promised Land," "Night Beat," and "Brenda Lee"
• Paul Williams — piano on "No Particular Place to Go," "You Two," and "Liverpool Drive"
• Willie Dixon — bass on "Our Little Rendezvous," "Promised Land," "Night Beat," "Merry Christmas Baby," and "Brenda Lee"
• Odie Payne — drums
• Fred Below — drums on "Night Beat" and "Merry Christmas Baby"
• Ebby Hardy or Jaspar Thomas — drums on "Our Little Rendezvous"
• Leroy C. Davis — tenor saxophone on "Our Little Rendezvous," "You Never Can Tell," "Fraulein," and "O Rangutang"
• James Robinson — tenor saxophone on on "You Never Can Tell," "Fraulein," and "O Rangutang"

Charts

Album

Single

References