Chuck Berry's 10 best songs ever, ranked

15 April 2026, 10:02

By Mayer Nissim

Chuck Berry was a pioneer and the Father of Rock and Roll.

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"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'," said John Lennon, introducing his rock 'n' roll hero on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972.

As a person, Chuck was a controversial figure. As a musician and songwriter, he was as crucial a figure in pop as any.

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His distinctive guitar sound, fiery riffs and pop melodies melded blues and country and western in such a thrilling way that he more than earned the title of the Father of Rock and Roll.

Some would even go further and crown him the King of the genre, though we don't want to choose between Chuck and Elvis, and thankfully don't have to.

Below we round up his ten biggest and best songs and lament that 'No Particular Place To Go', 'Carol' and 'Run Rudolph Run' were among the many, many classics that just missed out.

Memphis, Tennessee

Chuck Berry 'Memphis Tennessee' live 1965 remaster

Sometimes shortened to just 'Memphis', this song tells the story of a boy trying to get in touch on the phone with a girl named Marie in (of course), Memphis, Tennessee.
It was recorded in 1958 and was first released in the following year, and hit number 6 in the UK singles charts in 1963, around the time a Dave Berry and the Cruisers cover went top 20.
The Beatles recorded the song FIVE times, often for radio. They played it at the failed Decca auction, too, while John Lennon, Chuck Berry and – memorably – Yoko Ono played it together on TV in 1972.
Too Much Monkey Business

Chuck Berry - Too Much Monkey Business (Live At The Toronto Peace Festival, Canada 1969) (HD 60fps)

Released bak in 1956, Chuck Berry's frenetic 'Too Much Monkey Business' was an R&B hit in the US.
Produced by Leonard and Phil Chess, it featured Johnnie Johnson on piano, Willie Dixon on double bass and Fred Below on drums.
Like so many Berry songs, it was covered by countless stars on both sides of the Atlantic, with the Brits taking an especial shine to the song.
Versions came from The Beatles (of course), The Hollies, The Yardbirds and The Kinks. Stateside, the most famous version was by Elvis Presley.
Let It Rock

Chuck Berry - Let It Rock (Live in Bremen, Germany 1972)

Another Chess/Chess production featuring the same backing band, 'Let It Rock' is a rambling, scrambling three verse explosion of pure rock 'n' roll energy.
The Rolling Stones recorded a stonking live version in 1971 that was bundled out as the B-side of 'Brown Sugar'.
Back in the USA

Chuck Berry "Back in the USA"

Yet another Chess/Chess production featuring Johnson/Dixon/Below, but we really have to mention the backing vocals here, which come from Etta James and The Marquees (aka Harvey & the New Moonglows, featuring the young Marvin Gaye).
Released in 1959 the song itself is another perfect slab of rock and roll, written on Berry's return to the US from a trip to Australia.
Covers came from Alan Dale and The Casuals, Linda Ronstadt, the MC5, and Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, while The Beatles riffed on the song with their White Album opener 'Back in the U.S.S.R'.
You Never Can Tell

Pulp Fiction "You Never Can Tell" [HD]

Written in the early 1960s during Chuck Berry's time in federal prison (that controversial personal life we mentioned earlier), it went to number 14 and became Chuck's last hit of the 1960s.
Johnnie Johnson's piano riff propels the song, while Chuck sings about a teenage couple who flee to New Orleans to get hitched.
The song enjoyed a massive second life after it was featured in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction for that iconic dance scene featuring Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta).
Maybellene

Chuck Berry - Maybellene (live 1958)

"Rock & roll guitar starts here," said Rolling Stone of this 1955 single, and it's hard to argue with that assessment of this mashup of Bob Willis and the Texas Cowboy's version of 'Ida Red' and Julia Lee's 'Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got'.
It's not just the powerful early rock sound and fizzing energy, but also its lyrics, telling the tale of youthful romance, broken hearts and fast cars.
An R&B chart-topper and pop hit, too, it was a crucial moment in rock and roll. DJ Alan Freed originally snaffled 25% of the writing royalties (for playing the song on his show), but Chuck eventually emerged with full credit.
Sweet Little Sixteen

Chuck Berry - Sweet Sixteen

If you ignore Chuck Berry's 1972 novelty cover of 'My Ding-A-Ling' (and god knows we try to), 1958's 'Sweet Little Sixteen' was Chuck berry's biggest pop hit, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
It was a number 16 hit in the UK and has endured as one of rock 'n' roll's most classic melodies.
Chuck had used that tune himself on his own 'The Little Girl from Central' a few years earlier, but it's obviously 'Sweet Little Sixteen' that's the keeper.
The Beatles recorded the song in concert in 1963, John Lennon and Paul McCartney later cut solo versions, and The Beach Boys borrowed the melody wholesale for their own 'Surfin' USA.
Roll Over Beethoven

Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven (Belgium TV, 1965) - HD

A genre-defining masterpiece. It's easy and not inappropriate to read the lyric of this 1956 single as a shot across the bows of the (classical?) music establishment, but the inspiration was a bit more personal.
Apparently, Berry's sister Lucy was always using the one family piano to play classical music, while Chuck wanted to jump on and play more gutsy sounds.
On the classical side the likes of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky get nods, while works by the the likes of Louis Jordan, Carl Perkins and Bo Diddley are alluded to on the pop side of things.
ELO and The Rolling Stones recorded covers, as did (of course) The Beatles, whose version featured on their second album With The Beatles.
Rock and Roll Music

Rock and Roll Music

Not just a song. A manifesto.
This 1957 singles produced by the Chesses and featured usual Berry foils Fred Below and Willie Dixon, with Lafayette Leake thrashing things out on the piano.
"I was heavy into rock & roll and had to create something that hit the spot without question," said Berry.
"I wanted the lyrics to define every aspect of its being."
Mission accomplished. It was a top ten hit on the R&B and pop charts, and did even better when covered by Berry superfans The Beatles for Beatles for Sale and then The Beach Boys in 1976 for 15 Big Ones.
Johnny B. Goode

CHUCK BERRY : Johnny B. Goode (1958) HD

There are plenty of songs in the mix as the best or first or most important track in rock 'n' roll, but few that can argue that they may be the first rock songs that aliens will ever hear.
Assuming the waves from Radio Caroline (or Gold) might be too weak to reach any little green ears, it might be that planets outside the solar system will get their first exposure to humanity from the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977.
Each included a gold record featured a 90-minute collection of Earth music, with just one contemporary rock piece.

Chuck Berry with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band "Johnny B. Goode" | Concert for the Rock Hall

The Beatles' people declined and Chuck Berry's 'Johny B. Goode' got the nod, and it's something all mankind can be proud of..
Arguably the first song about becoming a rock 'n' roll star, its powerful riff and swaggering delivery celebrating a poor boy come good and redeemed through the power of music laid down a blueprint that's been much imitated but never bettered.
It's been covered by everyone from Bruce Sprinsgsteen to the Sex Pistols to The Grateful Dead to Marty McFly in Back to the Future. and regularly tops lists of not just Best Guitar Solos of all time, but the Best Songs full stop.