"Wee Wee Hours"
Single by Chuck Berry
A-side"Maybellene"
Released1955 (1955)
RecordedMay 21, 1955
StudioUniversal Recording Corp. (Chicago)[1]
GenreBlues
Length3:02
LabelChess
Songwriter(s)Chuck Berry
Producer(s)Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
Chuck Berry singles chronology
"I Hope These Words Will Find You Well"
(1954) 		"Wee Wee Hours"
(1955) 		"Thirty Days"
(1955)

"Wee Wee Hours" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1955. Originally released as the B-side of his first single, "Maybellene", it went on to become a hit, reaching number 10 in the Billboard R&B chart.[2]

The song is a twelve-bar blues, described as "a slow, sensuous blues featuring some exceptional piano from Johnnie Johnson".[3] "Wee Wee Hours" was on the audition tape submitted by Berry to Leonard Chess in hope of landing a recording contract with Chess Records.[3] Although it seemed like a good fit with the record company's blues roster,[4] Chess was more interested in the song that became "Maybellene", the song that launched Berry's career as a rock and roll star.

Berry often performed the song live. It is included on the 1969 album Chuck Berry Live in Concert,[5] and in the 1987 film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll.[6]

References

  1. ^ "The Chuck Berry Database: Details For Recording Session: 21. 5. 1955". A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry. Dietmar Rudolph. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Chuck Berry". Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 41. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  3. ^ a b Altman, Billy (1988). Chuck Berry: The Chess Box (Box set booklet). Chuck Berry. Chess/MCA Records. p. 5. CH3-80,001.
  4. ^ "I wanted to play the blues ... But I wasn't blue enough. We always had food on the table." Rolling Stone (April 7, 2011). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  5. ^ "Live at the Toronto Peace Festival 1969 - Chuck Berry | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  6. ^ "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll - Chuck Berry | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
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