Jan 29, 20222 min read

Promised Land (Multiple Artists/Chuck Berry Tribute (1975) (1/20/22

Multiple Link Alert! We're digging deep today...and you might just find the results...interesting.

A few days ago, my cousin Susie Kennedy sent me a copy of of this letter::

and wondered if I could do something with it for my "Great Songs of the'70s" blog.

Well, first of all, the letter is extremely cool...but since this a a blog about '70s music, I knew I would run into a problem from the get-go.

The only hit record Chuck Berry had during the '70s...was the god-awful 1972 double-entendre novelty song, "My Ding-a-Ling," which turned out to be the only #1 hit of his career. Yikes!

Chuck enjoyed performing the song in concert, but also realized the irony that his biggest hit was not even CLOSE to any of the "Great Songs" he had written and performed in the '50s and '60s.

As for me, I thought there MUST be another Chuck Berry song I could highlight from the '70s--and I found a few covers.

In 1976, The Beach Boys had a #5 hit with Chuck's "Rock & Roll Music," but truth be told (and I'm a HUGE Beach Boys fan), it's not really all that "great." You can check it out below, if you like.

But then, as I climbed even deeper into the rabbit hole, I discovered ANOTHER Chuck Berry Song that was a hit (TWICE!) during the '70s--and it has a fascinating history!

In 1964, Chuck took the old hillbilly folk song "Wabash Cannon Ball," (made popular by The Carter Family way back in 1929 and by Roy Acuff in 1936), completely rewrote the lyrics, gave it a classic rock & roll beat and released it as a single under the name "Promised Land."

It peaked at #41 on both the Hot 100 and Soul charts...and that was it. Until seven years later.

In 1971, Freddie Weller, lead guitarist for Paul Revere and the Raiders, went solo and recorded a country version of the song that reached #5 on Billboard's Country Chart.

Not to be outdone--and he almost never was--Elvis Presley recorded the song in 1974 and gave it everything he had. HIS version was a hit in 6 countries, reaching #14 on Billboard's Hot 100 in early 1975.

It was just the kind of rock & roll treatment that could--and DID--prove that Chuck Berry's music could live forever.

So when you get right down to it, and you include the tune from "Wabash Cannonball, "Promised Land," has been a "Great Song" for nearly 100 years, and maybe longer.

Thanks again, cousin Susie Kennedy, for the idea!

Elvis: (1974-75):