11 / 20
115
'The London Chuck Berry Sessions' was released in April
1972, and almost immediately, American DJs began playing the
full, 11:33 album version of
My Ding-A-Ling
. Seeing a real oppor-
tunity, Esmond Edwards went back into the studio to edit the
song down to 4:15, a comfortable length for a single release.
That July, the edited version of
My Ding-A-Ling
, (backed in the
US with the full version of
Johnny B. Goode
complete with riotous
crowd noise at the end), began its improbable rise up the charts.
Just days after Chuck’s 46
th
birthday, and at the same time 'The
London Chuck Berry Sessions' was certified gold for sales of over
500,000 in the US, the single took the number one spot on the
US 'Billboard' Charts; on November 25, it did the same in the UK,
despite the best efforts of conservative spokeswoman and moral
watchdog Mary Whitehouse to ban it for obscenity. Against all
the odds, Chuck Berry had achieved yet another comeback and
the greatest hit of his entire career, and in typical fashion, many
years later in 'The Autobiography,' Chuck recalled that he
"stubbed his toe on the curb"
on New York’s Fifth Avenue as he
received a $250,000 royalty check from GRT for the song.
Whether Dave Bartholomew, the original author of
My Ding-
A-Ling
, ever sued Chuck Berry for plagiarism remains a matter of
speculation to this day. From the moment of its release until now,
Chuck has always been listed as the composer of the song, and
Isalee Music, Chuck’s publishing company, has always been listed
as the publisher. Even so, the Library of Congress lists Bartholo-
mew, not Berry, as the copyright owner of
My Ding-A-Ling
.
In the US that November, and two months after in the UK,
C
HESS
followed up with
Reelin' And Rockin’
, this time edited down
from 7:07 to 4:20. Again, the single shot up the charts in both
countries, reaching number 27 in the US and number 18 in the
UK. Once again, Chuck Berry had become a hot property, in great
demand on the tour circuit only at a greatly increased fee.
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• • • • • • • MY D ING - A - L ING • • • • • • •