The Chess Box

The Chess Box is a compact disc box set compilation by Chuck Berry. It is one in a series of box sets issued by MCA/Chess in the late 1980s (the other sets were by Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Etta James). The Chuck Berry set is the most prominent of these, having won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album in 1989.[7] Berry's Chess Box was reissued on vinyl in 1990.[1]

The Chess Box
Box set by
Chuck Berry
Released1988
RecordedMay 21, 1955 – 1973[1]
GenreRock and roll
Length198:17[1]
LabelChess
ProducerLeonard Chess, Phil Chess, Chuck Berry, Esmond Edwards[2]
CompilerAndy McKaie
Chuck Berry chronology
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
(1987)		 The Chess Box
(1988)		 On the Blues Side
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA[3]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

This collection was also issued on audio cassette.[8]

Songs

The songs "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" and "Time Was" were previously unreleased. "Cryin' Steel" was first released as "Surfin' Steel" on Chuck Berry on Stage. "Ramona Say Yes" did not have saxophones.[9]

Another song of interest is "Chuck's Beat", from the album Two Great Guitars, by Berry and Bo Diddley.

Track listing

All songs written by Chuck Berry except as noted

Disc 1
  1. "Maybellene" (2:18)
  2. "Wee Wee Hours" (2:02)
  3. "Thirty Days" (2:21)
  4. "You Can't Catch Me" (2:42)
  5. "No Money Down" (2:56)
  6. "Downbound Train" (2:49)
  7. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (2:15)
  8. "Drifting Heart" (2:47)
  9. "Roll Over Beethoven" (2:22)
  10. "Too Much Monkey Business" (2:53)
  11. "Havana Moon" (3:06)
  12. "School Days" (2:40)
  13. "Rock and Roll Music" (2:30)
  14. "Oh Baby Doll" (2:36)
  15. "I've Changed" (3:04)
  16. "Reelin' and Rockin'" (3:15)
  17. "Rockin' at the Philharmonic" (3:21)
  18. "Sweet Little Sixteen" (3:10)
  19. "Johnny B. Goode" (2:37)
  20. "Time Was" (Gabriel Luna, Miguel Prado, Bob Russell) (1:56)
  21. "Around and Around" (2:38)
  22. "Beautiful Delilah" (2:13)
  23. "House of Blue Lights" (Don Raye, Freddie Slack) (2:24)
  24. "Carol" (2:46)

Disc 2
  1. "Memphis, Tennessee" (2:10)
  2. "Anthony Boy" (1:52)
  3. "Jo Jo Gunne" (2:45)
  4. "Sweet Little Rock N' Roller" (2:20)
  5. "Merry Christmas Baby" (Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore) (3:11)
  6. "Run Rudolph Run" (Marvin Brodie, Johnny Marks) (2:43)
  7. "Little Queenie" (2:40)
  8. "Almost Grown" (2:18)
  9. "Back in the U.S.A." (2:27)
  10. "Betty Jean" (2:29)
  11. "Childhood Sweetheart" (2:42)
  12. "Let It Rock" (1:45)
  13. "Too Pooped to Pop" (Billie Davis) (2:33)
  14. "Bye Bye Johnny" (2:03)
  15. "Jaguar and Thunderbird" (1:50)
  16. "Down the Road a Piece" (Raye) (2:13)
  17. "Confessin' the Blues" (Walter Brown, Jay McShann) (2:07)
  18. "Thirteen Question Method" (2:12)
  19. "Crying Steel" (2:32)
  20. "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" (Mack David, Duke Ellington) (2:50)
  21. "I'm Talking About You" (1:48)
  22. "Come On" (1:48)
  23. "Nadine (Is It You?)" (Berry, Alan Freed) (2:35)
  24. "Crazy Arms" (Ralph Mooney, Chuck Seals) (2:12)
  25. "You Never Can Tell" (2:40)
  26. "The Things I Used To Do" (Guitar Slim) (2:40)
  27. "Promised Land" (2:20)

Disc 3
  1. "No Particular Place to Go" (2:41)
  2. "Liverpool Drive" (2:53)
  3. "You Two" (2:08)
  4. "Chuck's Beat" (Berry, Bo Diddley) (10:35)
  5. "Little Marie" (2:34)
  6. "Dear Dad" (1:48)
  7. "Sad Day Long Night" (2:42)
  8. "It's My Own Business" (2:10)
  9. "It Wasn't Me" (2:32)
  10. "Ramona Say Yes" (2:40)
  11. "Viva Viva Rock N' Roll" (2:00)
  12. "Tulane" (2:36)
  13. "Have Mercy Judge" (2:38)
  14. "My Dream" (5:56)
  15. "Reelin' and Rockin'", live recording (7:02)
  16. "My Ding-a-Ling", live single-edit (4:16)
  17. "Johnny B. Goode", live recording (3:13)
  18. "A Deuce" (2:32)
  19. "Woodpecker" (3:33)
  20. "Bio" (4:22)

Personnel

Performers

Production

Charts
Chart performance for The Chess Box
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[10] 48

References
  1. Eder, Bruce. "The Chess Box – Chuck Berry: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  2. "The Chess Box – Chuck Berry: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  3. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. Christgau, Robert (August 3, 2012). "Chuck Berry". MSN Music. Microsoft. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  6. Fricke, David. "Chuck Berry: The Chess Box: Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  7. "Past Winners Search". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  8. "Chuck Berry – The Chess Box (1988, Cassette)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  9. Rudolph, Dietmar. "A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: The Chess Era (1955–1966)". Crlf.de. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  10. "Chuck Berry Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
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