| "Roll Over Beethoven" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 A-side label of US single | ||||
| Single byChuck Berry | ||||
| B-side | "Drifting Heart" | |||
| Released | May 1956 (1956-05) | |||
| Recorded | April 19, 1956[1] | |||
| Studio | Universal Recording Corp. (Chicago)[2] | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:23 | |||
| Label | Chess#1626 | |||
| Songwriter | Chuck Berry | |||
| Producers | Leonard Chess,Phil Chess | |||
| Chuck Berry singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 song written byChuck Berry, originally released onChess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as theB-side. The lyrics of the song mentionrock and roll and the desire forrhythm and blues to be as respected asclassical music. The song has been covered by many other artists, including theRolling Stones andthe Beatles (both in 1963).Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 97 on its 2004 list of the"500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]
According toRolling Stone[4] andCub Koda ofAllMusic,[5] Berry wrote the song in response to his sister Lucy always using the family piano to playclassical music when Berry wanted to play popular music. According to biographer Bruce Pegg, the song was "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".[6]
In addition to the classical composersLudwig van Beethoven andPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the lyrics mention or allude to several popular artists: "Early in the Mornin'" is the title of aLouis Jordan song; "Blue Suede Shoes" refers to theCarl Perkins song; and "hey diddle diddle", from thenursery rhyme "The Cat and the Fiddle", is an indirect reference to the Chess recording artistBo 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 thetitle of a song recorded byArthur Alexander and others.
The song was recorded atUniversal Recording Corporation in Chicago, Illinois on April 19, 1956.
The session wasproduced by the Chess brothers,Leonard andPhil.
Berry's version was originally released as single 1626 by Chess Records in May 1956,[7] with "Drifting Heart" as theB-side.[8]It peaked at number two on theBillboardR&B chart and number 29 on the pop chart. "Roll Over Beethoven" and three other Berry songs were included on the albumRock, Rock, Rock, promoted as thesoundtrack of thefilm 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, includingChuck Berry Twist andThe Chess Box.
Berry's single wasone of 50 recordings chosen in 2003 by theLibrary of Congress to be added to theNational Recording Registry. In 2004, "Roll Over Beethoven" was ranked number 97 onRolling 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 definerock and roll.[5]
In 1990, the 1956 recording of the song byChuck Berry onChess Records was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[9]
"Roll Over Beethoven" is one of the most widelycovered songs in popular music – "a staple of rock and roll bands", according to Koda[5] – with notable versions byGene Vincent,Jerry Lee Lewis andLinda Gail Lewis (#12 Can[10]), the Beatles, Carl Perkins, and Electric Light Orchestra.
| "Roll Over Beethoven" | |
|---|---|
 1963 Canadian single label | |
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| from the albumWith the Beatles | |
| Released | 22 November 1963 |
| Recorded | 30 July 1963 |
| Venue | EMI, London |
| Genre | Rock and roll |
| Length | 2:48 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter | Chuck Berry |
| Producer | George Martin |
"Roll Over Beethoven" was a favourite ofJohn Lennon,Paul McCartney, andGeorge 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.[11][12] In the United States, it was released April 10, 1964, as the opening track ofThe Beatles' Second Album,[13] and on May 11, 1964, as the opening track of the second Capitol EP,Four by the Beatles. It was released byCapitol in Canada with "Please Mister Postman" as the B-side, reaching number 2 on theCHUM Charts.[14] This release reached number 68 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100[15] and number 30 on theCash Box Singles chart.[16] In Sweden, it peaked at number 11 on theKvällstoppen Chart.[17] In Australia, it peaked at number one,[18] with "Hold Me Tight" as the B-side,[18] as did it in Denmark.[19]
In 1994, the Beatles released a live version of "Roll Over Beethoven" onLive at the BBC. This version had been recorded on February 28, 1964, and broadcast on March 30, 1964, as part of aBBC series starring the Beatles calledFrom Us to You.[20] This version of "Roll Over Beethoven" was used in the filmSuperman III, directed byRichard Lester, who also directed the Beatles' first two films,A Hard Day's Night andHelp!. In 1995, a live version from an October 1963 performance at theKarlaplansstudion inStockholm was released onAnthology 1.
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[21] | 68 |
| "Roll Over Beethoven" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byElectric Light Orchestra | ||||
| from the albumELO 2 | ||||
| B-side | "Queen of the Hours" | |||
| Released | 12 January 1973 (UK) 27 January 1973 (US) | |||
| Recorded | September 8, 1972[22] | |||
| Studio | AIR, London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock,[23]glam rock[24] | |||
| Length | 8:09 (US album version) 7:03 (UK album version) 4:32 (Single version) 3:42 (USpromo single version) | |||
| Label | Harvest | |||
| Songwriter | Chuck Berry/Ludwig van Beethoven | |||
| Producer | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| ELO 2 track listing | ||||
5 tracks
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Electric Light Orchestra's (ELO) elaborate eight-minute reworking of "Roll Over Beethoven", on the albumELO 2 in 1973, included an opening musical quote fromBeethoven'sFifth Symphony and interpolations of material from the symphony's first movement into Berry's song andPeter Gunn theme in the background. This became one of ELO'ssignature songs and has been used to close the majority of their concerts. It is also the most-performed song by the band.[25] "Roll Over Beethoven" was the second single released by the band, in January 1973, and became their second consecutive top ten hit in the UK. An edited version of the track fromELO 2 was a #42 hit in the United States.[citation needed]
Chicago radio superstationWLS, which gave the song much airplay, ranked "Roll Over Beethoven" as the 89th most popular hit of 1973.[26] It reached as high as number 8 (for two weeks) on their surveys of September 1 and 8, 1973.[27] The song reached number six on the competing stationWCFL.[28]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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On 26 October 1963,the Rolling Stones performed "Roll Over Beethoven" on the BBC radio showSaturday Club. This recording was officially released on the albumOn Air in 2017.[38]
Narvel Felts covered the song in 1982. His version went to number 64 on theHot Country Singles chart in 1982.[39]
In 1992,Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band, the longtimehouse band forDavid Letterman, released a cover of the song that was featured for the soundtrack for the family comedy filmBeethoven, which was also the name of the titularSt. Bernard.[40]
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