Sweet Little Sixteen
"Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. His performance of it at that year's Newport Jazz Festival was included in the documentary film Jazz on a Summer's Day. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, one of two of Berry's second-highest positions—along with Johnny Rivers' cover of "Memphis, Tennessee"—on that chart. "Sweet Little Sixteen" also reached number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart. In the UK, it reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 272 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004. He used the same melody on an earlier song, "The Little Girl From Central" recorded on Checkmate in 1955.
Personnel
Recorded December 29–30, 1957- Chuck Berry – vocals and guitar
- Lafayette Leake – piano
- Willie Dixon – bass
- Fred Below – drums
"Surfin' U.S.A."
The Beach Boys' 1963 song "Surfin' U.S.A." features lyrics by Brian Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love set to the music of "Sweet Little Sixteen". Under pressure from Berry's publisher, Wilson's father and manager Murry Wilson gave the copyright, including Brian Wilson's lyrics, to Arc Music.Beatles-related versions
Beatles connection
The Beatles recorded the song once for the Pop Go the Beatles radio show on 10 July 1963 at the Aeolian Hall, London. It remained unreleased until Live at the BBC in 1994, a year before the release of the compilation album Anthology 1.Personnel
- John Lennon – vocals, rhythm guitar
- George Harrison – lead guitar
- Paul McCartney – bass
- Ringo Starr – drums