"You Can't Catch Me" 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 as a single in 1956.

Background

The song's lyrics describe racing a souped-up "air-mobile" down the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

, then unfolding its wings and taking off. At the time, the Aerocar designed and built by

Molt Taylor Moulton B. "Molt" Taylor (September 29, 1912 – November 16, 1995) was an American aeronautical engineer famed for his work designing, developing, and manufacturing on a small scale one of the first practical flying cars, the Aerocar. Life a ...

was nearing

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

approval for mass production as a flying car with detachable folding wings. Berry's song was featured in the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

film '' Rock, Rock, Rock'' and was one of the four songs from the film that was included on the "soundtrack" album (the only one of his songs to be used both in the movie and on the album). Originally recorded by Berry in May 1955 at

Universal Recording Corp. Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment. Universal Recording was seminal i ...

for

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 a ...

during the same session as " Maybellene" and " Wee Wee Hours", the lyrics refer to both of those songs.

Cover versions

The song's music publisher,

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

, sued

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 ...

for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...

because of the melodic similarity between "You Can't Catch Me" and

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 ...

' 1969 song "

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with " Somethi ...

", written by Lennon, and because the Beatles' song used some of the lyrics of Berry's song ("here come old flat-top"). The suit was settled out of court. As part of the settlement, Lennon included a rendition of "You Can't Catch Me" on his 1975 album of cover versions, ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

''. Cover versions of the song were also recorded by

Sleepy LaBeef Thomas Paulsley LaBeff (July 20, 1935 – December 26, 2019), known professionally as Sleepy LaBeef, was an American singer and musician. Early life LaBeef was born in Smackover, Arkansas, the youngest of 10 children. The family name was origin ...

for a 1963 single, by

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 dr ...

for their 1965 album '' The Rolling Stones No. 2'', and by The Blues Project for their 1966 album '' Projections''. It was also done by

Love Sculpture Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues rock band that was active from 1966 to 1970, led by Dave Edmunds (born 15 April 1944 in Cardiff, Wales), with bassist John David (born 19 January 1946 in Cardiff) and drummer Rob "Congo" Jones (born 13 August ...

for their 1970 album ''Forms and Feelings'',

George Thorogood and the Destroyers George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs " Bad to th ...

for their 1988 album '' Born to Be Bad'',

Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons are an Australian blues music, blues and rock music, rock band that features the singer, songwriter and saxophonist Joe Camilleri (aka "Jo Jo Zep"). The band was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had severa ...

on their 2003 album ''Ricochet'' and by Florence Rawlings for her 2009 debut album ''A Fool in Love''.

References

Citations Sources * * {{Authority control 1956 singles Chess Records singles Chuck Berry songs The Rolling Stones songs Songs written by Chuck Berry Songs about cars 1956 songs