Anthology is a two-disc compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 by rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 performer Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

 released on July 27, 2000 by Chess Records

Chess Records

Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....

. The album is intended as an overview of Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

's song-writing career. It is a two-disc anthology which contains 50 tracks of Chuck Berry's finest songs.

The album was later reissued and packaged in 2005 as part of Universal Records

Universal Records

Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

' Gold series. The album was simply retitled Gold.

Reception

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

 states how Anthology is less expensive than The Chess Box

The Chess Box

The Chess Box is a title given to several box sets released by Chess Records for artists such as Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, and Etta James. The most prominent of these is the set for Chuck Berry, which won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album in 1989...

, he thinks that it removed several good songs like "Have Mercy Judge" and "Anthony Boy". David McGee, Milo Miles, and Mark Kemp

Mark Kemp

Mark Kemp is an American music journalist and author. A graduate of East Carolina University, he has served as music editor of Rolling Stone and vice president of music editorial for MTV Networks...

, of Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine, are of the opinion that Anthology is one of the best of Chuck Berry's compilation albums.

Track listing

All songs written by Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

, except as indicated.
All songs produced

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 by Leonard

Leonard Chess

Leonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...

 & Phil Chess

Phil Chess

Philip Chess is an American record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records.He was born Fiszel Czyż in a Jewish community in Częstochowa, Poland. He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago in 1928...

, except where indicated.

Disc 1

1. "Maybellene
   Maybellene
   "Maybellene" is a song recorded by Chuck Berry, adapted from the traditional fiddle tune "Ida Red" that tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single on Chess Records of Chicago, Illinois. It was Berry's first single release and his first hit...
   
   " – 2:22
2. "Wee Wee Hours
   Wee Wee Hours
   "Wee Wee Hours" is a song composed and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1955. Originally released as the B-side of Berry's first single "Maybellene", it went on to become a hit, reaching #10 in the Billboard R&B chart....
   
   " – 3:05
3. "Thirty Days" – 2:24
4. "You Can't Catch Me
   You Can't Catch Me
   "You Can't Catch Me" is a song written and performed by Chuck Berry, released as a single in 1956. The song's lyrics mention racing a souped-up "air-mobile" down the New Jersey Turnpike...
   
   " – 2:45
5. "Downbound Train" – 2:51
6. "No Money Down" – 2:59
7. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man
   Brown Eyed Handsome Man
   "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is a rock and roll song by Chuck Berry, which was originally released by Chess Records in September 1956 as the B-side to "Too Much Monkey Business". It was also included on Berry's 1957 debut album After School Session...
   
   " – 2:18
8. "Roll Over Beethoven
   Roll Over Beethoven
   "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit single by Chuck Berry originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classical music...
   
   " – 2:24
9. "Too Much Monkey Business
   Too Much Monkey Business
   "Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and performed by rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. It was released as Chuck's fifth single in September 1956 for Chess Records, and appeared as the third track on Chuck's first solo LP, After School Session in May 1957, as well as the EP of the same name...
   
   " – 2:56
10. "Havana Moon" – 3:09
11. "School Days
    School Days (song)
    "School Days" is a song written and recorded by rock and roll icon Chuck Berry, released by the Chess record label as a single in March 1957, and released on the LP After School Session two months later . It is one of his best known songs and is often considered a rock and roll anthem...
    
    " – 2:43
12. "Rock and Roll Music
    Rock and Roll Music
    "Rock and Roll Music" is a song written and recorded by rock and roll icon Chuck Berry which became a hit single in 1957 and has been covered by many artists....
    
    " – 2:33
13. "Oh Baby Doll" – 2:39
14. "Sweet Little Sixteen
    Sweet Little Sixteen
    "Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. It reached number two on the American charts, Berry's highest position ever on the charts, with the exception of the suggestive number one hit "My...
    
    " – 3:03
15. "Guitar Boogie" – 2:21
16. "Reelin' and Rockin'" – 3:17
17. "Johnny B. Goode
    Johnny B. Goode
    "Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock and roll song written and originally performed by American musician Chuck Berry. The song was a major hit among both black and white audiences peaking at #2 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.The song is one of Chuck Berry's...
    
    " – 2:42
18. "Around and Around
    Around and Around
    "Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single "Johnny B. Goode".- The Rolling Stones :...
    
    " – 2:41
19. "Beautiful Delilah" – 2:11
20. "House Of Blue Lights" (Don Raye
    Don Raye
    Don Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
    
    , Freddie Slack
    Freddie Slack
    Frederick Charles Slack was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader.He played with the Jimmy Dorsey Band in the 1930s and was a charter member of the Will Bradley Orchestra when it formed in 1939...
    
    ) – 2:29
21. "Carol
    Carol (song)
    "Carol" is a song written by Chuck Berry, first released by Chuck Berry in 1958. It was later covered by The Beatles for a live BBC performance during 1963, this version was released on the 1994 compilation album Live at the BBC. It was also recorded by The Rolling Stones and released on their...
    
    " – 2:50
22. "Jo Jo Gunne" – 2:47
23. "Memphis
    Memphis, Tennessee (song)
    "Memphis, Tennessee" is a song by rock & roll singer-songwriter Chuck Berry. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire...
    
    " – 2:15
24. "Sweet Little Rock & Roller" – 2:24
25. "Little Queenie" – 2:44
26. "Almost Grown
    Almost Grown (song)
    "Almost Grown" is a song written and performed by Chuck Berry. It was released as a double a-side with "Little Queenie". The song is featured in the 1973 film American Graffiti...
    
    " – 2:19

Disc 2

1. "Back in the U.S.A.
   Back in the U.S.A.
   "Back in the U.S.A." is a song by Chuck Berry, which was first issued in 1959 as a single a-side and on Berry's 1962 album More Chuck Berry, . The song's lyrics were supposedly written based upon Berry returning to the USA following a trip to Australia and witnessing the living standards of...
   
   " – 2:29
2. "Do You Love Me" – 2:24
3. "Betty Jean" – 2:28
4. "Childhood Sweetheart" – 2:45
5. "Let It Rock
   Let It Rock (Chuck Berry song)
   "Let It Rock" is a song by Chuck Berry from his 1960 album Rockin' at the Hops. The same year, it was released as the B-side of the single "Too Pooped to Pop " and reached #64 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #6 in the UK. The song is about working on a train track as a train is...
   
   " – 1:49
6. "Too Pooped To Pop" – 2:37
7. "I Got to Find My Baby" – 2:17
8. "Don't You Lie to Me
   Don't You Lie to Me
   "Don't You Lie to Me" is a blues song recorded by Tampa Red in 1940. It became a standard of the blues, with recordings by various artists...
   
   " – 2:05
9. "Bye Bye Johnny" – 2:07
10. "Jaguar & Thunderbird" – 1:52
11. "Down the Road a Piece
    Down the Road a Piece
    "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year...
    
    " (Raye) – 2:16
12. "Confessin' the Blues" (Jay McShann
    Jay McShann
    Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
    
    , Walter Brown
    Walter Brown (singer)
    Walter Brown was a blues shouter who sang with Jay McShann's band in the 1940s and co-wrote their biggest hit, "Confessin' The Blues"....
    
    ) – 2:10
13. "I'm Talking About You
    I'm Talking about You
    I'm Talking About You is a song by Chuck Berry, released by him in 1961.Cover versions: The Hollies , The Animals, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, Roger Chapman, The Beatles I'm Talking About You is a song by Chuck Berry, released by him in 1961.Cover versions: The Hollies (in Stay with the...
    
    " – 1:51
14. "Come On
    Come On (Chuck Berry song)
    "Come On" is a song written and first released by Chuck Berry in 1961. The Rolling Stones released a version as their debut single in 1963.According to the liner notes from the Berry compilation album The Great Twenty-Eight, the performers on the record were as follows:* Chuck Berry: Guitars and...
    
    " – 1:51
15. "Nadine (Is It You?)" – 2:36
16. "You Never Can Tell
    You Never Can Tell (song)
    "You Never Can Tell" also occasionally referred to as "C'est La Vie" is a rock and roll song by Chuck Berry. It was composed while he was in prison for intent to commit a sex crime. The song was originally released in 1964 on the album St...
    
    " – 2:44
17. "Promised Land
    Promised Land (song)
    "Promised Land" is a song lyric written by Chuck Berry to the melody of "Wabash Cannonball", an American folk song. The song was first recorded in this version by Chuck Berry in 1964 for his album St. Louis to Liverpool. Released in 1965, it was Berry's first single issued following his prison term...
    
    " – 2:25
18. "No Particular Place to Go
    No Particular Place To Go
    "No Particular Place to Go" is a song by American rock and roll icon Chuck Berry, released as a single by Chess Records in May 1964 and was released on the album St...
    
    " – 2:44
19. "Dear Dad" – 1:52
20. "I Want to Be Your Driver" – 2:17
21. "Tulane" – 2:39
22. "My Ding-a-Ling
    My Ding-a-Ling
    "My Ding-a-Ling" was the title of a novelty song recorded by Chuck Berry, and his only U.S. number-one single on the pop charts. Later that year the song, in a longer unedited form, was on the album The London Chuck Berry Sessions...
    
     (Live, Single Edit)" – 4:19
    • Produced by Esmond Edwards
      Esmond Edwards
      Esmond Edwards was an American photographer, record producer, and recording engineer. He worked for jazz dominated Prestige Records during the 1950s and early-1960s. He was originally hired by founder Bob Weinstock as a photographer for the record label...
      
      
23. "Reelin' and Rockin (Live)" – 7:04
    • Produced by Esmond Edwards
24. "Bio" – 4:24

Personnel

Per liner notes

• Chuck Berry
  Chuck Berry
  Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
  
   – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Willie Dixon
  Willie Dixon
  William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
  
   – bass
  Double bass
  The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
  
  
• Johnnie Johnson
  Johnnie Johnson (musician)
  Johnnie Johnson was an American pianist and blues musician. His work with Chuck Berry led to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.-Career:...
  
   – piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Jasper Thomas – drum
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  s
• Ebby Hardy – drums
• Jerome Green – maracas
• Otis Spann
  Otis Spann
  Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
  
   – piano
• L.C. Davis – tenor saxophone
  Tenor saxophone
  The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
  
  
• Fred Below
  Fred Below
  Fred Below was a leading blues drummer, best known for his innovative work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. Nobody laid more of the Chicago blues rhythmic foundations, particularly its archetypal backbeat, than Fred Below.-Career:He was born in Chicago, and started playing drums...
  
   – drums
• Jimmy Rogers
  Jimmy Rogers
  Jimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
  
   – guitar on "Havana Moon"
• Hubert Sumlin
  Hubert Sumlin
  Hubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
  
   – guitar on "School Days"
• Lafayette Leake
  Lafayette Leake
  Lafayette Leake was a blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings.-Biography:Leake was born in...
  
   – piano
• G. Smith – bass
• Etta James
  Etta James
  Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
  
   – background vocals
  Backing vocalist
  A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
  
  
• The Marquees – background vocals
• The Ecuadors – background vocals
• Matt "Guitar" Murphy – guitar
• Martha Berry – background vocals on "Come On"
• Odie Payne
  Odie Payne
  Odie Payne was an American Chicago blues drummer. Over his long career Payne worked with a range of musicians including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Little Johnny Jones, Tampa Red, Otis Rush, Yank Rachell, Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis...
  
   – drums
• James Robinson – saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
  
• Paul Williams – piano on "No Particular Place to Go"
• Owen McIntyre – guitar on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin' (live)"
• Dave Kafinetti – piano on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin' (live)"
• Nic Potter
  Nic Potter
  Nic Potter is a British bassist, composer and painter, best known for his work with the group Van der Graaf Generator in the 1970s.-Career:...
  
   – electric bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
   on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin' (live)"
• Robbie McIntosh
  Robbie McIntosh (drummer)
  Robbie McIntosh was a Scottish drummer from Dundee, who was a founder-member of the Average White Band. His father was American born actor, Bonar Colleano, who had a successful career in films,especially in the U.K...
  
   – drums on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin' (live)"
• Stan Bronstein – saxophone on "Bio"
• Adam Ippolito – piano on "Bio"
• Wayne "Tex" Gabriel – guitar on "Bio"
• Gary Van Scyoc – electric bass on "Bio"
• Rick Frank – drums on "Bio"
• Leonard Chess
  Leonard Chess
  Leonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...
  
   – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  
• Phil Chess
  Phil Chess
  Philip Chess is an American record producer and company executive, the co-founder of Chess Records.He was born Fiszel Czyż in a Jewish community in Częstochowa, Poland. He and his brother Lejzor, sister Malka and mother followed their father to Chicago in 1928...
  
   – producer
• Esmond Edwards
  Esmond Edwards
  Esmond Edwards was an American photographer, record producer, and recording engineer. He worked for jazz dominated Prestige Records during the 1950s and early-1960s. He was originally hired by founder Bob Weinstock as a photographer for the record label...
  
   – producer
• Andy McKaie – producer, compiler
• Erick Labson – digital remastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  
• Vartan – art direction
  Art director
  The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
  
  
• Mike Fink – design
  Design
  Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...