Chuck Berry discography: History and Key Facts

American rock and roll musician Chuck Berry's discography includes 20 studio albums, 12 live albums, 31 compilation albums, 50 singles, 8 EPs, and 2 soundtrack albums.

Berry's recording career began in 1955, with the release of his single "Maybellene", and spanned a total of 62 years, although the latter 4 decades featured few or no releases. His most prolific and successful period spanned the 1950s and early 1960s, during which time he recorded for Chess. By 1960 he had released most of his hits, including "Maybellene", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Sweet Little Sixteen", and "Johnny B. Goode". Legal troubles, resulting in his imprisonment in 1961, caused a reduction in his output, but his release in 1963, combined with an interest in his songs thanks to the British Invasion, rejuvenated his career. By the time Berry left Chess in 1966, he had released 36 singles, 5 EPs, and 12 albums, including the fake live album, Chuck Berry On Stage and 2 compilation albums, as well as having featured in the soundtrack album for the film Rock, Rock, Rock!.

Berry subsequently signed to Mercury Records, where he stayed until 1970. During his tenure at Mercury, he released 5 albums, including his first real live album, as well as 5 singles, before he returned to Chess, where he released a further 5 singles and albums each, including The London Chuck Berry Sessions, which became his best-selling album, supported by his only #1 single, "My Ding-a-Ling". After his release from Chess in 1975, Berry's releases became sporadic, briefly recording for Atco in 1979, resulting in his final studio album released during his life, Rockit. His final, posthumous, studio album was 2017's Chuck.

Berry's discography includes a large amount of unofficial live albums, as he performed without being signed to any label for most of his latter years, as well as a number of re-packaged or unofficial compilation albums, owing to Chess Records' complicated ownership history.

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