County of site: St. Louis Independent City
Location of site: 4th St. & Market St., part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis
Song Writer: Chuck Berry
Artist: Chuck Berry
"Chuck Berry - "Back in the U.S.A." (1959)
"What does Chuck Berry mean to America? Everything. What does America mean to Chuck Berry? Pretty much the same, but with an extra helping of money upfront and St. Louis right behind. For Berry, to be "Back in the U.S.A." meant to be back at his home "in ol' St. Lou," to have the freedom to be a rock & roller. It also meant a creative common ground with his partner, Johnnie Johnson, who deserves so much credit for the freewheeling sound of Berry's national anthem. "Uh huh, oh yeah!" go the backup singers, thump go the drums, and up-and-down and inside-out go the keys of Johnson, as driving as boogie-woogie, as virtuoso as bebop, as American and as St. Louis as all get-out." ~ By Roy Kasten, Riverfront Times
Listen to Ole Chuck move: "Back in the U.S.A."
"Back in the U.S.A." by Chuck Berry (1959)
Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today
We touched ground on an international runway
Jet propelled back home, from over the seas to the U. S. A.
New York, Los Angeles, oh, how I yearned for you
Detroit, Chicago, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge
Let alone just to be at my home back in ol' St. Lou
Did I miss the skyscrapers, did I miss the long freeway?
From the coast of California to the shores of Delaware Bay
You can bet your life I did, till I got back to the U. S. A.
Looking hard for a drive-in, searching for a corner café
Where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day
Yeah, and a juke-box jumping with records like in the U.S.A.
Well, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the U.S.A.
Yes. I'm so glad I'm livin' in the U.S.A.
Anything you want, we got right here in the U.S.A.