Description
This is a pre-order. It will ship on or around 11/6/26
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chuck Berry's birth on October 18, 2026, Bear Family Records presents Birthday Berrys, a specially curated 10-inch vinyl collection that looks beyond the most predictable hits to explore Berry's extraordinary musical vocabulary. Rather than simply assembling another greatest-hits package, the album brings together less frequently compiled recordings, including selections that have not been reissued on vinyl in decades, while tracing the rhythm and blues, urban blues, swing, Latin and African-American storytelling traditions that helped shape Berry's revolutionary approach to rock 'n' roll.
The collection illustrates both Berry's roots and the distinctive ways he transformed them. 'Down the Road Apiece,' associated with Amos Milburn, reflects the 1940s rhythm-and-blues tradition, while 'I Got to Find My Baby' draws from the urban blues of Doctor Clayton and the musical worlds of St. Louis and Chicago. 'Roly Poly' brings combo swing into the picture, while 'La Jaunda (Español)' demonstrates another side of Berry's rhythmic and stylistic range. 'Jaguar and Thunderbird' and 'Jo Jo Gunne' adapt trickster narratives with roots in African-American storytelling, revealing how Berry's lyrical imagination extended well beyond the teenage themes for which he became famous.
Those teenage narratives nevertheless remain essential to Berry's legacy, represented here by recordings including 'Sweet Little Rock and Roller,' 'Almost Grown,' 'Betty Jean,' 'Back in the U.S.A.' and 'Bye Bye Johnny.' Together with 'Reelin' and Rockin',' these performances demonstrate the combination of blues language, infectious rhythm, guitar-driven energy, wit and sharply observed storytelling that made Berry one of the foundational architects of rock 'n' roll. As John Lennon famously observed in 1972, 'If you tried to give rock 'n' roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry.''
Expertly remastered for this centennial vinyl release, Birthday Berrys is presented as a 12-track 10-inch LP accompanied by a 12-page pamphlet. The booklet features an informative essay by Chicago music historian Bill Dahl along with numerous rare photographs drawn from Bear Family Records' now out-of-print Chuck Berry box set. More than a birthday anthology, Birthday Berrys places Berry's music in context by celebrating both the traditions he inherited and the singular sound he forged from them.
Cancellations:
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