"Little Queenie" is a song written and recorded by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

. Released in March 1959 as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single with " Almost Grown", it was included on ''

Chuck Berry Is on Top ''Chuck Berry Is on Top'' is the third studio album by rock and roll artist Chuck Berry, released in July 1959 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1435. With the exception of one track, "Blues for Hawaiians," all selections had been previously release ...

'' (1959), Berry's first compilation album. He performed the song in the movies ''

Go, Johnny Go! ''Go, Johnny, Go!'' is a 1959 rock and roll film starring Alan Freed as a talent scout searching for a future rock and roll star. Co-starring in the film are Jimmy Clanton, Sandy Stewart, and Chuck Berry. The film has also been released as ''Joh ...

'' (1959) and ''

Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll'' is a 1987 documentary film directed by Taylor Hackford that chronicles two 1986 concerts celebrating rock and roll musician Chuck Berry's 60th birthday. A soundtrack album was released in October 1987 on the MCA lab ...

'' (1987). One year earlier, Berry had released "

Run Rudolph Run "Run Rudolph Run" is a Christmas song written by Chuck Berry but credited to Johnny Marks and M. Brodie due to Marks' trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP) and was first record ...

", a

Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

with the same melody.

Background

The song was recorded on November 19, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois. Backing Berry on vocals and guitar were either Johnnie Johnson or

Lafayette Leake Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 – August 14, 1990) was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chic ...

on piano,

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

on bass, and

Fred Below Frederick Below, Jr. (September 6, 1926 – August 13, 1988) was an American blues drummer, best known for his work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic stru ...

on drums. In a song review for AllMusic, Matthew Greenwald calls it an "incredible rock & roll anthem" and "one of the greatest dance/sex ritualistic classics." It is included several of Berry's compilation albums, including ''

The Great Twenty-Eight ''The Great Twenty-Eight'' is a compilation album by American musician Chuck Berry, released in 1982 on Chess Records. In 2003, the album was ranked number 21 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintain ...

'' and '' Chuck Berry's Golden Decade''.

Chart performance

The song peaked at number 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Other versions

It has been covered by many artists, including: *

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, who according to

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

in ''The Complete Beatles Chronicles'',

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

performed "Little Queenie" live from at least 1960 until 1963 in Liverpool, Hamburg and elsewhere with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

on lead vocal. An audience recording from December 1962 is included on ''

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

''. Author Doug Sulpy in ''Drugs, Divorce and Slipping Image'' notes during the lengthy sessions for the album ''

Get Back "Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to ...

'',

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

sang the lead vocal on a fairly brief version of it. *

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

frequently performed the song live; a version recorded in November 1969 at Madison Square Garden is on the album ''

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...

''. It is also on the Stones bootleg ''Live'r Than You'll Ever Be''. Several other artists have recorded the song. Their version reached number 11 on the ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' (English: ''Ten At The Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record cha ...

'' chart in Sweden. *A version by

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

, recorded circa 1965, was released on '' The Shame Just Drained'' in 1977. *In 1972,

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...

recorded for their second album, '' R.E.O./T.W.O.''.

Song influence

*English glam-rock band T-Rex's

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

, discussing their hit "

Bang a Gong (Get It On) "Get It On" is a song by the English rock band T. Rex, featured on their 1971 album ''Electric Warrior''. Written by frontman Marc Bolan, "Get It On" was the second chart-topper for T. Rex on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it was r ...

", "claimed to have written the song out of his desire to record

's "Little Queenie", and said that the riff is taken from the Berry tune. In fact, a slightly edited line ("And meanwhile, I'm still thinking") from "Little Queenie" is said at the fade of "Get It On". *The first line of the chorus can be heard at the beginning of the fade out to the 1974

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

hit "

Now I'm Here "Now I'm Here" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by lead guitarist Brian May, it was the sixth song on their third album, ''Sheer Heart Attack'' (1974). The song is noted for its hard riff and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the son ...

References

Chuck Berry songs 1959 singles Chess Records singles Songs written by Chuck Berry The Easybeats songs 1959 songs The Crickets songs {{1950s-single-stub