Maybellene

"Maybellene" is a song by Chuck Berry that tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single on Chess Records of Chicago, Illinois. It was Berry's first single release, and his first hit. "Maybellene" is considered one of the pioneering rock and roll singles: Rolling Stone magazine said, "Rock & roll guitar starts here." The record is an early instance of the complete rock and roll package: youthful subject matter, small guitar-driven combo, clear diction, and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement.

In 1955, the song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard rock charts, and was a #1 R&B hit. Chuck was the first African American to reach the top ten on the Billboard list. In 2004, "Maybellene" was ranked number 18 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 1999, National Public Radio included it in the "NPR 100," the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century as chosen by NPR music editors.

The title is often misspelled as Maybelline, even on some of Berry's compilation CDs. That spelling is used by a popular cosmetics line.

-Wikipedia