After School Session
by Chuck Berry
- Type: Album
- Released: May 1957
- Label: Chess
- Country: United States
- Length: 32:46
- Community rating: 4.03/5 from 5 ratings
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Chuck Berry's debut LP, 'After School Session', functions primarily as a compilation of his groundbreaking early singles recorded for Chess Records between 1955 and 1957. The album codifies his hugely influential rock and roll template, blending witty, narrative-driven lyrics about teenage life and social observation with his revolutionary guitar work and a raw, energetic production style. Featuring support from pianist Johnnie Johnson and bassist Willie Dixon, the recordings showcase Berry's stylistic range, from blues and boogie-woogie to the calypso-flavored 'Havana Moon', establishing a foundational sound for the emerging genre.
Genres
Descriptors: classic, guitar-driven, old-school, groundbreaking, infectious
Tracklist
- School Day (Ring Ring Goes The Bell) (02:40)
- Deep Feeling (02:18)
- Too Much Monkey Business (02:54)
- Wee Wee Hours (03:02)
- Roly Poly (02:49)
- No Money Down (02:57)
- Brown Eyed Handsome Man (02:17)
- Berry Pickin' (02:30)
- Together (We'll Always Be) (02:36)
- Havana Moon (03:06)
- Downbound Train (02:49)
- Drifting Heart (02:48)
Credits
- Chuck Berry - vocals, guitars, steel guitar on "deep feeling"
- Johnnie Johnson - piano
- Willie Dixon - bass
- Fred Below - drums
- L. C. Davis - tenor saxophone on "too much monkey business" and "drifting heart"
- Jasper Thomas - drums
- Ebby Hardy - drums
- Otis Spann - piano
- Jimmy Rogers - guitar
- Jerome Green - maracas on "maybellene"
- Leonard Chess - producer
- Phil Chess - producer
- Andy McKaie - reissue producer
- Erick Labson - digital remastering
- Vartan - art direction
- Don Snowden - liner notes