Sweet Little Sixteen

From Wikipedia:

“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 is that year at the Newport Jazz Festival was included in the documentary film “Jazz on a Summer’s Day“. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, Berry’s second-highest position ever on that chart (surpassed only by his suggestive hit “My Ding-A-Ling“, which reached number one in 1972). “Sweet Little Sixteen” also reached number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 272 on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2004.

According to Mark Lewisohn in “The Complete Beatles Chronicle“, The Beatles – first as The Quarrymen –performed “Sweet Little Sixteen” regularly between 1957 and 1962, with John Lennon on lead vocals. A version, recorded in Hamburg in 1962, was released on “Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962.”

The group performed it for the sixth edition of the “Pop Go The Beatles” radio show, on July 10, 1963. It was recorded at the Aeolian Hall, London, and first broadcast on July 23. This version was released on “Live At The BBC” in 1994

In 1974, while filming the “One Hand Clapping” documentary, Paul McCartney recorded an acoustic guitar version of “Sweet Little Sixteen” in the backyard of the EMI Studios at Abbey Road. This track is available on bootlegs.

With Chuck Berry, I choose ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’ because it sums him up for me. To us, he was a magician making music that was exotic, yet normal, at the same time

Paul McCartney, in Desert Island Discs, 1982

Lyrics

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

Live performances

“Sweet Little Sixteen” has been played in 4 concerts.

Latest concerts where “Sweet Little Sixteen” has been played

Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 2) 1990-2012

This new book by Luca Perasi traces Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1990 to 2012 in the form of 250 song entries, filled with details about the recordings, stories behind the sessions and musical analysis. His pop albums, his forays into classical and avant-garde music, his penchant for covering old standards: a complete book to discover how these languages cross-pollinate and influence each other.

The second volume in a series that has established itself as a unique guide to take the reader on a journey into the astonishing creativity of Paul McCartney.

Read our exclusive interview with Luca Perasi

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