Roll Over Beethoven

"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classical music. The title of the song is an imperative directed at the composer Ludwig van Beethoven to roll over out of the way and make room for the rock and roll music that Berry was promoting. The song has been covered by many other artists, including the Beatles and the Electric Light Orchestra. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked it number 97 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Inspiration and lyrics

According to ''Rolling Stone'' and Cub Koda of AllMusic, Berry wrote the song in response to his sister Lucy always using the family piano to play classical music when Berry wanted to play popular music. It was, as biographer Bruce Pegg says, "inspired in part by the rivalry between his sister Lucy's classical music training and Berry's own self-taught, rough-and-ready music preference". The lyric "roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news" refers to how classical composers would roll over in their graves upon hearing that classical music had given way to rock and roll.

In addition to the classical composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the lyrics mention or allude to several popular artists: " Early in the Mornin'" is the title of a Louis Jordan song; "Blue Suede Shoes" refers to the Carl Perkins song; and "hey diddle diddle", from the nursery rhyme "The Cat and the Fiddle", is an indirect reference to the Chess recording artist Bo Diddley, who was an accomplished violin player. Although the lyrics mention "rocking" and "rolling", the music that the classics are supposed to step aside for is referred to as "rhythm and blues". The lyric "a shot of rhythm and blues" was appropriated as the title of a song recorded by Arthur Alexander and others.

Recording

The song was recorded at Universal Recording Corporation in Chicago, Illinois on April 19, 1956.
* Chuck Berry, vocals and guitar
* Johnnie Johnson on piano
* Willie Dixon on bass
* Melvin Billups on drums
The session was produced by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil. The song was released as Chess single 1626.

Release

Berry's version was originally released as a single by Chess Records in May 1956, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side.
It peaked at number two on the ''Billboard ''R&B chart and number 29 on the pop chart. "Roll Over Beethoven" and three other Berry songs were included on the album '' Rock, Rock, Rock'', promoted as the soundtrack of the film of the same name, but only four of the 12 songs on the album were used in the film.

"Roll Over Beethoven" has been released numerous times on compilation albums, including ''Chuck Berry Twist'' and ''The Chess Box''.

Legacy

Berry's single was one of 50 recordings chosen in 2003 by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2004, "Roll Over Beethoven" was ranked number 97 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The accompanying review stated that it "became the ultimate rock & roll call to arms, declaring a new era".

Koda calls it a "masterpiece" that helped to define rock and roll.

Cover versions

"Roll Over Beethoven" is one of the most widely covered songs in popular music – "a staple of rock and roll bands", according to Koda – with notable versions by Jerry Lee Lewis and Linda Gail Lewis(#12Can), the Beatles, Carl Perkins, and Electric Light Orchestra.

The Beatles

"Roll Over Beethoven" was a favourite of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison even before they chose "the Beatles" as their name, and they continued to perform it right into their American tours of 1964. Their version of "Roll Over Beethoven" was recorded on July 30, 1963, for their second British LP, ''With the Beatles'', and features Harrison on vocals and guitar. In the United States, it was released April 10, 1964, as the opening track of ''The Beatles' Second Album'', and on May 11, 1964, as the opening track of the second Capitol EP, '' Four by the Beatles''. It was released by Capitol in Canada with "Please Mister Postman" as the B-side, reaching number 2 on the CHUM Charts. This release reached number 68 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 30 on the ''Cash Box'' Singles chart. In Sweden, it peaked at number 11 on the Kvällstoppen Chart. In Australia, it peaked at number one,
with Hold Me Tight as the B-side, as did it in Denmark.

In 1994, the Beatles released a live version of "Roll Over Beethoven" on ''Live at the BBC''. This version had been recorded on February 28, 1964, and broadcast on March 30, 1964, as part of a BBC
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