Saturday Morning Soundtrack -- "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry (1955)

So here we are with a brand new format for the Saturday Morning Soundtrack series! I'm starting with 1955 (the year Rock n' Roll was arguably born) and reviewing my favorite songs from each year (one per week) until I either reach the present or run out of rock. We'll still occasionally break from this format to feature guest bloggers (like Dan Joyce from Green Chamber Studio), so no worries there.

This project is, of course, going to stir up some controversy, but that's what rock is all about, right? To be clear, I'm not alleging that the songs I pick are necessarily the "best" songs from a given year. Just my favorites.  You'll hear some big hits and some B-side buried treasures. Some weeks, it'll be a bit like picking a favorite child. Other weeks, I may have to dig deep to find a song I like. If nothing else, it should be an adventure. 

If your favorite song gets overlooked, let me know just how wrong I got things in the comments below! Or, even better, consider writing your own Saturday Morning Soundtrack entry for a future post. And, after you read the commentary, keep checking out the Youtube page to play through the entire series playlist seamlessly while you write, work, exercise, or simply rock out!

---

Saturday Morning Soundtrack @ Youtube

---

"Maybellene" -- Chuck Berry (1955)

The emergence of the 1950 Fender Stratocaster guitar (the first mass-produced, solid-body electric guitar with three pickups) had a profound impact on the sound and style of popular music. It's distinctive tone would come to define this first decade of early rock music, replacing sax and piano as the premier rock and roll instrument. Naturally, along with these new guitars came new musicians and new playing styles. And though there were a number of great early players, the one who always stood out to me is Chuck Berry.

What gets me about Berry is that his style always sounds so contemporary. To me, he's the Beethoven of rock n' roll because he was light years ahead of his time, and his showmanship and double-stop playing style remain the hallmark of rock guitar playing even today. "Maybellene" is a song that epitomizes all of this. In the words of Rolling Stone, "Rock & Roll starts here."

Like most rock songs, Maybellene covers familiar territory--young love, infidelity, hot rod racing--told with a galloping rockabilly beat and hip teen patois. It's a song you can move to, and it's got all the things we love about classic rock boiled down into one 2-minute song. What most people don't realize is that the song is a re-imagining of the traditional fiddle tune "Ida Red" (Berry's favorite tune to sing at the integrated "salt and pepper" clubs where he first played):

          Ida Red, Ida Red, I'm a plumb fool 'bout Ida Red.

When listening to both tunes, it's easy to see how much cross pollination between country and blues was occurring back in the 50s. Take a country tune, add a quick injection of R & B, and we've got ourselves not only a #1 hit, but an entirely new music genre. All in a day's work for Chuck!

Oh, and for those who are wondering, yes, the Maybelline mascara company that continues to exist today was, in fact, where the name of our titular heroine was born, a suggestion made by Berry's producer Leonard Chess.


Be sure to check back next week for 1956!

---

So what do you think? Did I get it right or miss the mark? Please, feel free to weigh in using the comments below. And, if you would like to write a Guest Entry for the "Saturday Morning Soundtrack" series where you creatively respond to one of your favorite rock songs, don't hesitate to contact me with queries.