St. Louis to Liverpool

St. Louis to Liverpool
Studio album by Chuck Berry
Released	November 1964
Recorded	December 1957 – August 1964
Studio	Chess Studios, Chicago
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	31:34
Label	Chess
Producer	Leonard Chess, Philip Chess
Chuck Berry chronology
Two Great Guitars (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 by Chess Records (catalogue number 1488). It peaked at number 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 prison, emerging rock groups had found inspiration in his work. The Beach Boys had based their number 3 hit single "Surfin' U.S.A." on his "Sweet Little Sixteen"; the Beatles had included "Roll Over Beethoven" on their second American album (The Beatles' Second Album); the debut single in the United Kingdom by the Rolling Stones was their cover of "Come On", and they had included "Carol" on their first American album, England's Newest Hitmakers.

Wishing to capitalize on his popularity during the British Invasion, Berry and Chess Records fashioned this album to appeal to young 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 "Little Marie", a sequel to "Memphis, Tennessee. The additional eight tracks included the four B-sides of those singles; "Our Little Rendezvous", a B-side from 1960; "Merry Christmas Baby", a 1958 holiday single; an instrumental outtake from a 1950s session; and "Liverpool Drive", a recent instrumental.

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 its 50th anniversary commemorative of Chess Records. In 2008, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album together 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 noted

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

7. "Go Bobby Soxer" (2:59)
8. "Things I Used to Do" (Eddie Jones) (2:42)
9. "Liverpool Drive" (2:56)
10. "Night Beat" (2:46)
11. "Merry Christmas Baby" (Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore) (3:14)
12. "Brenda Lee" (2:15)

Bonus tracks, 2004 reissue

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