First released in 1959 as a single
on Chess Records, Chuck Berry’s Back in the USA took the 37th
spot on the American Hot 100 and the 16th spot on the American R&B
chart. It also appears on the 1962 album More Chuck Berry. Berry supposedly wrote
the song upon returned to the USA after a trip to Australia and witnessing the
poor living standards of the Australian Aborigines. Which is a little ironic
when you consider how America treated its aboriginal population after colonization.
The song has been covered by a few
different people including Jonathon Richman and the Modern Lovers (bonus points
if you’ve heard of them), and Linda Ronstadt, who can claim to have had the
most commercial success with the song. Her 1978 album Living in the USA went
double platinum.
The MC5 released their cover in 1970
on their second album Back in the USA. Though not a commercially successful
album it has received notable accolades. In 2011 Rolling Stone ranked it number
451 on one of its 500 greatest album lists. NME Magazine placed it at number
490 on a similar list.
Chuck Berry:
MC5:
Close huh? It’s pretty tough. I
think the like the vocals on Berry’s version better, but the MC5 really bring
it on their version. I think I have to give the nod to them.
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