Chuck Berry cover versions are the best of their kind - here's my Top Ten

What’s always driven Chuck Berry fans mad is his apparent lack of regard for his own music. Dave Edmunds was once approached to produce a new album for the legend, but refused on the grounds that he didn’t want to waste his time on someone who seemed happy to slaughter his own classics live on stage. (The way Berry ignored the fact there were no guitar breaks on the recording of "Let It Rock" really annoyed Edmunds.) 

 Somewhere along the line, our Chuck decided that he was a vaudeville entertainer rather than the composer and performer of some of the greatest and most influential records of the Rock ‘n’ Roll era. (In the “Musical Taste” page at the top of this blog, I nominate him as my favourite all-time Rock ‘n’ Roll artist.) Unfortunately, his belief that duck-walks, tenth-rate pick-up bands and sloppy guitar-playing were a suitable way to treat his stupendous legacy was no doubt strengthened by the fact that his worst record, the truly abysmal “My Ding-a-Ling”, became his only British Number One in 1970 (given its quality, a more fitting position would have been Number Twos).

But if Chuck wasn’t that respectful towards his own stuff, a whole host of 1960s rockers – especially here in the UK - were only too happy to keep the flame alive. Although Berry often seemed convinced that he was somehow being ripped off by all these young white boys, they were in fact adding lustre to a legend that its creator seemed happy to let fall into ruin.

Berry’s songs have produced more truly great cover versions than any other rock artist. Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis covers almost invariably sound so pathetic in comparison to the originals as to make the process seems pointless. No one is ever going to do a version of “Great Balls of Fire” or “Keep a Knocking” that won’t have us begging them to stop after four bars. But there’s something about Berry’s songs that brings the best out of many of those who’ve been influenced by them.

It may partly be because his voice – while undeniably great - is lighter and less “black” or Southern than other rock ‘n’ roll giants of that era (no wonder many American radio stations at the time assumed he was white). His diction is astonishly clear, his voice sounds like that of a young man, and the lyrics are often written from the perspective of a teenager. The likes of Bo Diddley and Carl Perkins always sounded like men – Berry’s age is indistinct, and his persona is less threatening, less adult. White kids can sing “The Promised Land” without sounding silly: a nineteen-year old from Twickenham singing “Smokestack Lightnin’” or "I'm a Man" is always going to sound faintly silly.

The true engine of Berry’s records is, of course, his guitar-playing – and it’s not that hard to replicate. In fact his whole sound, complete with Johnny Johnson’s , tinkly piano, isn’t that hard to simulate (which is why, I presume, Berry has been able to spend most of his career on tour being backed by rubbish bands without the audience running him out of town).

For whatever reason, many performers can take a Berry song and invest it with their own personality. The best Berry interpreters, to this day, are the Rolling Stones (Keith Richards in particular) and Dave Edmunds – two propulsively rhythmic guitar players. Here are my top ten Berry covers, in no particular order – except that I’ll start with my two favourites:

Johnnie Allan’s Cajun version of “Promised Land” is the best of all the studio covers. I know this is sacrilegious, but I think it’s better than the original:

The Rolling Stones version of “Little Queenie” from their 1970 live album is wonderful – as Mick Jagger remarks later on, “Charlie’s good tonight, inne?”

The best studio cover of “Little Queenie” is Jerry Lee Lewis’s: inevitably, he makes it sound entirely his own.

Elvis did a slew of Berry covers – my favourite is “Memphis, Tennessee”. 

“Route 66” isn’t a Chuck Berry song, but his version is the one The Stones covered on their first album.

Handclaps are also the order of the day in The Beatles’ version of “Roll Over Beethoven” off the With the Beatles LP.

Buddy Holly’s rockabilly take on “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” is simply a delight.

Hard to say which is Dave Edmunds’s finest homage to Berry – but it’s probably the version of the slightly obscure “Oh What a Thrill” he cut as part of Rockpile.. I’m also very fond of his take on very obscure “Dear Dad”.

I've always had a soft spot for two-hit wonders The Steve Gibbons Band's 1977 version of "Tulane".

Finally, Emmy-Lou Harris and her Hot Band did a lovely “You Never Can Tell” – nice to hear a convincing Country Rock take for once.

Of course, where some have succeeded, many have failed. Dismally. Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, AC/DC and the Grateful Dead – even John Lennon doing “Sweet Little Sixteen” on His Rock ‘n’ Roll album – have got it terribly, dreadfully wrong.

But I’d prefer to end on a positive note, with some examples of artists who’ve pulled off the feat of writing in the Berry style without embarrassing themselves.

First, there’s Bob Seger’s classic “Get Out of Denver” – pastiche, homage, rip-off, who knows? The important thing is, it’s great. 

Famously, the Beach Boys were successfully sued by Berry for ripping off “Sweet Little Sixteen” with “Surfin’ USA”. But “Fun, Fun, Fun” owes almost as much to Berry, musically – although he wouldn’t have including the harmony wee-ooing at the end, obviously. 

Nick Lowe’s “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)” has always struck me as owing something to “You Never Can Tell”. 

I’ll end with an oddity - “Big Berry (Boss Man Guitar)” - an early and rather peculiar Berry tribute by Big Daddy G. Doesn’t sound much like Chuck Berry, apart from some of the guitar riffs, but it has wormed its way into my subconscious.