Anthology (Chuck Berry album)

The Anthology
Greatest hits album by Chuck Berry
Released	June 27, 2000 [1]
Recorded	May 21, 1955 – December 22, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois September 28, 1958 in St. Louis February 3, 1972 at the Lanchester Arts Festival, Coventry, England
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:13:16
Label	Chess
Producer	Andy McKaie
Chuck Berry chronology
Live! (2000) The Anthology (2000) Live on Stage (2000)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	A−[3]
Rolling Stone

Anthology is a two-disc compilation album by American rock and roll musician Chuck Berry released on July 27, 2000, by Chess Records. It duplicates in its entirety the previous anthology The Great Twenty-Eight ranked at No. 21 on the Rolling Stone 500 greatest all time albums list, as well as the entirety of the later Definitive Collection issued in 2006 as part of the Universal series. The album was later reissued and packaged in 2005 as part of the Universal Records Gold series, and simply retitled Gold.^[4] It charted at No. 110 in the UK Albums Chart.

An overview of Berry's Chess recordings, it contains every 45 rpm single released by Berry on the Chess label from his debut in 1955 through March 1965 with the exceptions of the holiday record "Merry Christmas, Baby," "Anthony Boy," "Chuck's Beat" with Bo Diddley, and "Little Marie." This does not include content from every released EP single, but of the 28 A-sides from this time period, 14 were top ten hits on the Billboard R&B singles chart and ten were Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

It also includes an additional three singles, "Tulane" from 1970, "Bio" from 1973, and his only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "My Ding-a-Ling" from 1972. After the 31 A-sides, the set's 50 songs total includes eleven b-sides, seven album tracks, and one that appeared on the 1990 rarities compilation, Missing Berries. Four of the b-sides charted independently from their plug side.

Robert Christgau states that although Anthology is less expensive than The Chess Box, it removed several good songs like "Have Mercy Judge" and "Anthony Boy".^[3] David McGee, Milo Miles, and Mark Kemp, of Rolling Stone magazine, are of the opinion that Anthology is one of the best of Berry's compilation albums.^[3]

All tracks written by Chuck Berry, except where noted.^[1]

• Chuck Berry – vocals, guitars
• Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin – electric guitars
• Johnnie Johnson, Lafayette Leake, Otis Spann, Paul Williams —piano
• Willie Dixon – bass
• Reggie Boyd, George Smith – bass
• Fred Below, Ebby Hardy, Odie Payne, Jasper Thomas – drums
• Jerome Green – maracas
• L.C. Davis, James Robinson – saxophone
• Martha Berry, Etta James, The Ecuadors, The Marquees – backing vocals
• Owen McIntyre – guitar on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" (live)
• Dave Kafinetti – piano on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" (live)
• Nic Potter – bass on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" (live)
• Robbie McIntosh – drums on "My Ding-a-Ling" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" (live)
• Stan Bronstein – saxophone on "Bio"
• Adam Ippolito – piano on "Bio"
• Wayne "Tex" Gabriel – guitar on "Bio"
• Gary Van Scyoc – bass on "Bio"
• Rick Frank – drums on "Bio"

Technical personnel

• Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Esmond Edwards – original recording producers
• Andy McKaie – compilation producer
• Erick Labson – digital remastering
• Vartan – art direction
• Mike Fink – design