"Wee Wee Hours" 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 ...

in 1955. Originally released as the B-side of his first single, "

Maybellene "Maybellene" is a rock and roll song. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, adapted in part from the Western swing fiddle tune "Ida Red". Berry's song told the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance, the lyrics describing ...

", it went on to become a hit, reaching number 10 in the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. The song is a twelve-bar blues, described as "a slow, sensuous blues featuring some exceptional piano from Johnnie Johnson". "Wee Wee Hours" was on the audition tape submitted by Berry to

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago blu ...

in hope of landing a recording contract with

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

. Although it seemed like a good fit with the record company's blues roster, Chess was more interested in the song that became "Maybellene", the song that launched Berry's career as a rock and roll star. Berry often performed the song live. It is included on the 1969 album ''

Chuck Berry Live in Concert ''Chuck Berry Live in Concert'' is a live album by Chuck Berry. It was released in 1978, nine years after it was recorded at the 1969 Rock and Roll Revival concert at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Canada. Track listing All tracks written by Chuck ...

'', and in the 1987 film ''

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 ...

''.

References

{{Chuck Berry 1955 songs Blues songs Chuck Berry songs Songs written by Chuck Berry