Maybellene

This evolved out of "Ida Red," a hillbilly song by Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys from the early '50s. Berry heard that song on the Country radio station KMOX in St. Louis, but didn't know who recorded it. Reworking the song into a tune he called "Ida Mae," Berry performed the song around St. Louis with his group, the Johnnie Johnson Trio. Berry had never recorded, but when he went to Chicago to see Muddy Waters perform, he stayed in town to pitch himself to Leonard Chess of Chess Records, who asked him to come back the next week with some original songs. Berry returned with his bandmates Johnnie Johnson (piano) and Eddie Hardy (drums), and a demo reel with four songs, including "Ida Mae." That's the one Leonard Chess liked best, but he asked Berry to change so there wouldn't be any confusion with "Ida Red" and to fend off any copyright claims. Berry changed the lyrics, turning it into a song about fast cars - one of his favorite topics. It was the first song the band recorded, and it proved a challenge: they recorded 36 takes.

This song tells the story of a girl who keeps cheating on her man. Various cars appear in the lyrics; Berry sings about chasing Maybellene in his V8 Ford while she drag races a man in a Cadillac with her Coupe de Ville.

There are a few different stories floating around about how the song got its name. Berry has said that Maybellene was the name of a cow in child's nursery rhyme, but Johnnie Johnson recalled that there was a box of Maybellene mascara in the office, which gave Leonard Chess the idea for the title.