The posthumous record is compiled from performances recorded between 2005 and 2006, and will feature Berry classics like Roll Over Beethoven, Sweet Little Sixteen and Johnny B. Goode
(Image credit: Francois Durand/Getty Images)
To celebrate Chuck Berry’s 95th birthday, it has been announced that an all-new live album recorded by the father of rock ‘n’ roll back in ‘05 and ‘06 will be released on December 17.
Live From Blueberry Hill, which is being released by Dualtone Records, will be assembled from recordings taken from Berry’s gigs at the Blueberry Hill venue in St. Louis – a stage the electric guitar icon played more than any other in the twilight of his career – and will feature classic Berry tracks such as Sweet Little Sixteen and Johnny B. Goode.
Described as “an indelible document of the rock ‘n’ roll icon’s legendary hometown shows," the album captures the gigs that were originally organized after Berry voiced, in his later career, his desire to return “to play a place the size of the ones I played when I first started out."
Speaking to his longtime confidant Joe Edwards back in 1996, the pair decided to host the concerts at the Blueberry Hill restaurant, which Edwards owned.
As such, a new room in the restaurant – christened The Duck Room, after Berry’s iconic stage move – would go on to accommodate 209 performances from Berry and his band over the next 17 years.
After experimenting with different bands for the performances, Berry landed on the Blueberry Hill Band, which featured close friends, family members and local music stars such as his daughter Ingrid Berry on the harmonica, son Charles Berry, Jr. on guitar, bassist Jimmy Marsala, pianist Robert Lohr and drummer Keith Robinson.
The Blueberry Hill Band would go on to be Berry’s longest-running backing band ever.
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Check out the tracklist for Live From Blueberry Hill below.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
