Chuck Berry "alternate" 'Sweet Little 16' source...

I'm going through old cassettes and came across a tape of NY Radio dial scanning from approx 1991. Amongst the music on there is Berry doing "Sweet Little Sixteen", and nothing sounded out of place until he sings "and back in SCHOOL again" instead of the usual "back in CLASS again" line. The version sounded almost 100% like the original Chess hit, but it's obviously not. How close to the original soundstage were the Mercury re-records, which I have not heard?

Or was this some sort of alternate Chess master from unknown origins?

 

I'd bet anything it's from the "Rock 'N Roll Rarities" CD that Chess issued in the early 90s. I'm on the road and can't pull it out to listen and answer your question definitively...but that CD is alternate takes and the like.

 

Probably a re-record. The alternate takes found on The Complete Chess Recordings all go "back in class again".

 

So if anyone has the Mercury re-records handy, what is their technical pedigree? Same studio? Same musicians? Yadda yadda yadda? Like I said...the "sound" of this take is VERY similar to the Chess master.

 

I listened to the sample of the Mercury on Amazon and that version has a tambourine whereas the original does not.

http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Rock-H...=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1294106422&sr=1-1

 

Just checked the Mercury sample on Amazon...DEFINETELY not the version on this aircheck.

 

Anyway you can put up a sample?

 

sadly, not at this time, no.

 

Bump. Just curious if anyone has any information.


I happened to run across a CD-R in a shoebox that has an unreleased take (Take 2) that also goes "back in class".

The Hip-O set has the demo, take 3, take 11, and the master take, all with "back in class".

 

Sooner or later I will be able to post up a sample, but it probably won't be for a few weeks. Maybe someone will give us the answer before then.

 

re: "Back in school again"

The "back in school again" version was released as a bonus track to a 1997 MCA "After School Session" JP CD, MVCM-22102.

The only info given in English is that it's an "Alternative Version".

 

re: "Back in school again"

Here's a quick pic of the disc:

 

Thanks.

The Hip-O set included the songs that were on the three "Rarities" CD's. I wonder why they didn't include this one as well. I wonder what Take # it was.

 

Just come across this thread which is helping me towards an answer to my question I have.

I've got a couple of compilation CDs that have this song on them, though the timings are quite different.

One is 3 minutes 13 seconds, the other is 3 minutes 2 seconds. It sounds very much as though the shorter version is just a speeded up version of the longer (or the longer is a slowed down version of the shorter, but I suspect it's the first option). Either way, they are the same recording.

They both have the lyric "back in class", and neither feature a tambourine that I can hear, which suggests from what's above that this may be the original version rather than a remake, however, looking at the entry for this single in the Rate Your Music website, it says the single was 2 minutes 35 seconds.

So, anyone know whether I do have the original single version here (meaning the Rate Your Music website info is wrong), if so, is it the slower or quicker version? Or could the longer versions potentially be an album version? I notice there was a 1958 album called "One Dozen Berrys" that features Sweet Little Sixteen.

Any help appreciated!