By Bruce Warren, Program Director for XPN

When Chuck Berry sang “Roll Over Beethoven, tell Tchaikovsky the news,” he was not only telling the world to look out for a new kind of music but he was paying homage to some of the legends of classical music.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, Berry wrote the song in response to his sister Lucy always using the family piano to play classical music when Berry wanted to play rock ‘n’ roll. The song, “Roll Over The Beethoven”, was released on Chess Records in 1956. Rolling Stone magazine says the song “became the ultimate rock & roll call to arms, declaring a new era. Berry announced the changing of the musical guard with one of his blazing guitar riffs and pounding piano from longtime sidekick Johnnie Johnson.”
“Roll Over Beethoven,” like “Stairway To Heaven,” is one of those songs that’s required learning if you’re in a band. If you don’t know “Roll Over Beethoven”, and you’re in a band, then you need to be hanging up your rock and roll shoes. It’s a staple of any cover band and perhaps one of the most widely covered songs in music. On allmusic.com they list dozens of covers of the song from bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Charlie Feathers, Jan & Dean, The Sonics, Status Quo, Ten Years After, and my favorite cover of it – the one by Electric Light Orchestra.

Do you have a favorite cover of “Roll Over Beethoven”? Or do you prefer the original? Let us know as we continue to collect your memories about the music.