Maybellene

E403601

Maybellene is a pioneering 1955 rock and roll song by Chuck Berry that helped define the genre with its driving rhythm and guitar work.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Maybellene canonical 4

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf debut single
rock and roll song
song
artist Chuck Berry
basedOn Ida Red
basedOnWorkType traditional country song
Bside Wee Wee Hours
chartPosition No. 1 on Billboard R&B chart
No. 5 on Billboard pop chart
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
featuresInstrument drums
electric guitar
piano
firstHitFor Chuck Berry
genre rhythm and blues
rock and roll
hasForm verse-chorus structure
hasHistoricalSignificance one of the first rock and roll hits
pioneering crossover from R&B to pop charts
hasLyricalTheme car chase
romantic jealousy
hasMusicalFeature driving rhythm
fast tempo
prominent electric guitar
hasNarrativePerspective first person
hasSubject pursuit of a girl named Maybellene in a car race
helpedDefine rock and roll genre
includedIn Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
surface form: Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll
surface form: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll
influencedGenre rock music
rockabilly
language English
length about 2:18
notableFor early use of guitar-driven rock sound
influence on later rock musicians
originalTitle Ida May
performer Chuck Berry
producer Leonard Chess
Phil Chess
recordingDate 1955-05-21
recordLabel Chess Records
releaseDate 1955-07
tempo up-tempo
titleChangedBy Leonard Chess
writer Alan Freed
Chuck Berry
Russ Fratto

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Chuck Berry notableWork Maybellene
Chuck Berry Is on Top hasTrack Maybellene
Themetta Suggs spouseNotableSong Maybellene