Roll Over Beethoven

This song is about the rock 'n' roll craze that was taking over America. Beethoven and Tchikovsky were classical composers who were being bumped aside by rock. At the time, many critics dismissed rock music as a passing fad.

Berry was careful to write lyrics that told a coherent story, which in this case follows a young many as he pursues his favorite music. Berry also took care to deliver his lyrics clearly so a wider audience could understand them. This helped him avoid the fate of many Little Richard songs: more popular, but sanitized covers by Pat Boone.

Berry started writing this song to rib his younger sister, Lucy, who played classical music on the family piano. Chuck was telling her to yield the instrument so he could play rock and roll. The song ended up taking a different turn, but that's where the title came from.