Recorded - February 3, 1972
Released - June 1972
#1 for weeks of October 21 and 28, 1972.
Imagine if the only Beatles record to reach #1 was "Revolution #9". Imagine if the only Elvis Presley #1 was his version of "Wooden Doll". Imagine if the only Chuck Berry record to top the charts was "My Ding-a-Ling"...Oh wait...the latter actually happened...Wow...
There is no need for me to go into the back story of the father of Rock and Roll. Chuck Berry's influence on all forms of popular music is still being felt to this very day. Although Chuck had dried up commercially by the second half of the 1960's, the rock and roll revival of the late '60's/early '70's reignited his career.
During a February 1972 concert over in England, Chuck ran through a highly improvisational version of Dave Bartholomew's "My Ding-a-Ling". Somehow, this version was taped and released without Chuck's knowledge. Even more surprising, it reached #1, for two whole weeks!
The original Dave Bartholomew version of "My Ding-a-Ling" is rooted in risque hokum blues. For those who don't know, hokum blues was an R&B music style, most popular during the 1930's through the early 1950's. It featured highly suggestive lyrics, sometimes without euphemisms. In other words, "My Ding-a-Ling", is not about a boy playing with a set of musical bells.
Much of Chuck's version of the song features the audience singing...,shouting, along. It gives the song a stadium anthem-feeling. The main problem most people have with Chuck Berry's rendition of the tune is that this was the only song of his that managed to top the charts. "Johnny B Goode?", "Roll Over Beethoven?", "Rock And Roll Music?". Nope, just the song about Chuck Berry's...er...ding-a-ling......
Actually, I could care less that this was his only #1. Again, just because a song reaches #1 doesn't mean it's the best of the best. Likewise, just because an artist never has any big chart hits doesn't mean they aren't highly influential.
My only minor problem with this song reaching #1 is that it was a cover song, not an original. Unlike Elvis Presley, who never wrote a song in his life, Chuck Berry was a highly prolific songwriter. Sure, some of his songs were highly formulaic, but what a formula it was! So the fact that his only hit was not one of his own tunes is a bit of an insult.
Final Verdict - I enjoy listening to "My Ding-a-Ling" for its novelty factor every now and then. However, the song gets annoying after repeated listens, and it doesn't showcase Berry's singing, songwriting, or guitar-playing talents at all. It's not the worst, but hardly the best either.
Coming Up Next - "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash.
Until Next Time, I'm Doc-a-Rock -
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