I'm a Rocker - Chuck Berry
Label: Contour Records
Catalog Number: CN 2019
Country: UK
Release Date: 1970
Format: Vinyl (Compilation)
Tracks
- A1) Tulane
- A2) Have Mercy, Judge
- A3) Instrumental
- A4) Christmas
- A5) Gun
- B1) I'm A Rocker
- B2) Flyin' Home
- B3) Fish And Chips
- B4) Some People
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and considered one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.
Born into a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School. While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the guitar riffs and showmanship techniques of blues player T-Bone Walker, he was performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio.[2] His break came when he traveled to Chicago in May 1955, and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Leonard Chess of Chess Records. With Chess he recorded "Maybellene"—Berry's adaptation of the country song "Ida Red"—which sold over a million copies, reaching #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart. By the end of the 1950s, Berry was an established star with several hit records and film appearances to his name, as well as a lucrative touring career. He had also established his own St. Louis-based nightclub, called Berry's Club Bandstand. But in January 1962 Berry was sentenced to three years in prison for offenses under the Mann Act—he had transported a 14-year-old girl across state lines.
You know sometimes I'm a rocker and sometimes I'm all a roller.
I may go down sometimes but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number one,
We were rockin' and a rollin' and really havin' fun
I'm a rocker, yeah; I'm a roller,
I may go down sometimes but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out the floor when they played number two
You know she claims she don't, but I know she do
I'm a rocker, yeah; I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number three
Believe me, I was diggin?her and she was diggin?me
I’m a rocker, yeah; I’m a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number four
She done freak me out and I was ready to go
I'm a rocker, I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number five
I was lit up like a green light on a one-way drive
I'm a rocker, I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number six
I was stone getting firm like a cement mix
I'm a rocker, I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number seven
We caught a taxicab and told him to take us to heaven
I’m a rocker, I’m a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number eight
She was right on time, and I wasn’t a second late
I'm a rocker, I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We were out on the floor when they played number ten
We had a coke, a cheeseburger, went and did it again.
I'm a rocker, I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes, but I come back to rock'n'roller
We was all freaked out when the band went down
And we all got together and went ‘round and around
I’m a rocker, I’m a roller
I may go down sometimes but I come back
Rockin', rollin', rockin', rollin', rockin'
N?rollin' and really havin' fun
I'm a rocker, I'm a roller
I may go down sometimes but I come back to rock'n'roller
Chuck Berry Website
Track listing
- "Wheels Ain't Comin' Down" (Holder/Lea) UK #60 - 3:40
- "Hold on to Your Hats" (Holder/Lea) - 2:32
- "Chakeeta" (Holder/Lea) - 2:26
- "Don't Waste Your Time (Back Seat Star)" (Holder/Lea) - 3:28
- "Sign of the Times" (Holder/Lea) - 3:57
- "I'm a Rocker" (Chuck Berry) - 2:46
- "Nuts Bolts and Screws" (Holder/Lea) - 2:30
- "My Baby's Got It" (Holder/Lea) - 2:34
- "I'm Mad" (Holder/Lea) - 2:46
- "Lemme Love into Ya" (Holder/Lea) - 3:38
- "Ginny, Ginny" (Holder/Lea) - 3:38