(Chuck Berry)
Song written and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1959 and released on single which reached No. 37 in the Billboard 100 and No. 16 on the R&B chart. It later appeared on 1962’s More Chuck Berry and was the inspiration for The Beatles’ “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
It is said that the lyrics were written following the return to the USA by Chuck berry after he had toured Australia and seen the living conditions of the aborigines.
In 1978, Linda Ronstadt covered it on her release of Livin’ in the U.S.A. The original song-as-itinerary, it has had a host of imitators, including Huey Lewis’s “The Heart of Rock and Roll” and John Cougar Mellencamp’s “R-O-C-K in the U.S.A.” It’s the kind of concert-friendly song designed to elicit a roar of approval from whatever city the performer happens to be in at the time.
Linda Ronstadt recordings
Asylum E-45519-A (US 45 PS)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_in_the_U.S.A.
- http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=717
- http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/chuck-berry-20-essential-songs-w472713/back-in-the-usa-1959-w472717
- https://www.discogs.com/Chuck-Berry-Back-In-The-USA/release/714163