Chuck Berry's Early Recording Locations

The current discography lists the early Chuck Berry recording sessions at the following locations:

• 21 May 1955: Universal Studios, 111 East Ontario Street, Chicago
• September 1955: Universal Studios, 111 East Ontario Street, Chicago
• December 1955: Universal Studios, 111 East Ontario Street, Chicago
• 19 April 1956: Chess Studios, 4750-2 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago
• 29 October 1956: Chess Studios, 4750-2 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago
• 15 December 1956: Chess Studios, 4750-2 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago
• 21 January 1957: Chess Studios, 4750-2 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago
• 6/15 May 1957: Sheldon Studios, 2120 South Michigan Ave., Chicago
• 29/30 Dec 1957: Sheldon Studios, 2120 South Michigan Ave., Chicago

The Chess Label website, http://campber.people.clemson.edu/chess2.html states:

In 1953, the Chess brothers continued to make their sessions at Universal Recording in Chicago. But after moving from 4858 South Cottage Grove to 4750, Leonard and Phil Chess would open a small studio in the back of their new offices. Announced in a Billboard article on June 19, 1954, this was mostly used for demos. Any recordings made there and used for release had to be done on the sly. Every effort was made to insure that it wouldn't, but the makeshift studio did eventually come up on the radar screen at Local 208 of the Musicians Union. Leonard Chess had to appear before the Board 'to explain certain phases of his recording activity'. Chess stated that the office studio was only used for rehearsals and auditions, although he admitted 'several years ago this may have happened' because he was 'not in a position at all times to meet his financial obligations'.

The writers of the site conclude:

We may be reasonably sure that there was no more recording for release in the back room studio after February 1956, when Leonard Chess was threatened with the revocation of his recording license.

The first three Berry sessions pre-date February 1956 but the songs cut at Chuck's first session for Chess, Maybellene and Wee Wee Hours, both have a matrix number beginning with 'U' as listed in 'The Chess Labels' compiled from Chess files by Michel Ruppli (but not included on the record labels). This was until recently considered to stand for recordings made at Universal Studios, 111 East Ontario Street, probably the best recording studio in Chicago at this time. However, as the 'U' designation also appears on matrices that we know were not cut at Universal the letter must signify something else.
That said the aural quality of Chuck's first two recordings are such that they are most likely Universal recordings. The songs cut at Chuck's second and third Chess sessions which include Thirty Days, You Can't Catch Me and No Money Down were erroneously designated with a 'U' matrix in discographies but none of the matrix numbers on the labels of the singles or the info in Ruppli include the 'U'. However, the quality of these recordings which is much better than those cut at the rear of the offices at South Cottage Grove indicate that these too are Universal Studio recordings. In addition with Maybellene being Chess's first big cross-over hit it is unlikely that the brothers Chess would not record the vital follow-up of their hot new property at the best studio available.
The question remains were any of the four sessions listed above as recorded at South Cottage Grove actually cut at the makeshift studio? The session cut in April 1956 was a monster gig in which Roll Over Beethoven, Too Much Monkey Business, Brown Eyed Handsome Man and Drifting Heart were waxed. All classics and all of high audio quality. The contract details for this session exist which state 'recording studio' for the the location and whilst this is not specific it does indicate a proper studio rather than the office studio at South Cottage Grove so it seems there is little doubt that this session was cut at Universal.
The next session at which only Havana Moon was recorded presents more of a problem. Here the sound is so unusual compared to earlier recordings that this could well be a South Cottage Grove cut. However, it should be noted that blues-man Jimmy Rogers plays second guitar on Havana Moon and that on the very same day he cut his own single If It Ain't Me and Walking By Myself both of good audio quality indicating a Universal Studio location. Willie Dixon is also on both the Berry and Rogers' sessions so is it likely that they would record in two different locations on the same day? More strength to fact that the Rogers' session was cut in a recording studio rather than the Chess office at South Cottage Grove can be found in Rogers biography 'Blues All Day Long' written by Wayne Everett Goins. He recounts a first hand story from Jimmy Rogers about the harmonica player on the session Walter Horton, who was embarrassed by having to come to the recording studio in his plasterer's work clothes. So, on balance Universal is the most likely location for the Havana Moon recording.
The next two sessions dated 15 December 1956 and 21 January 1957 form the biggest quandary. In December 1956 the demo version of Rock And Roll Music is said to have been recorded four months before the master (single) cut was made. It has recently been established by the very attuned ears of Arne Wolfswinkel that this demo recording in fact has no bass present and it's just Chuck, Johnnie and Fred Below on the cut. It's known that the South Cottage Grove set-up was used primarily for rehearsals and demo cutting and the frugal Chess brothers did not like to have their artists running up Universal Studio time bills on preliminary run-throughs. However, some South Cottage Grove recordings did get a contemporary release, a prime example being I'll Be Home, The Flamingos' first big hit. According to Robert Pruter, in his 'Doo Wop The Chicago Scene' book, two versions were cut, first at South Cottage Grove then later at a larger more professional studio (probably Universal). Chess liked the earlier, rougher version and this was unusually used for the single. This being noted, the demo version of Rock And Roll Music may well have been a South Cottage Grove recording. What is also puzzling is why such a great song was not completed at this time? The song is essentially complete, so why wait four months before cutting the master? Could it be that the Rock And Roll Music demo is, in fact, an early take recorded at the May 1957 session that produced the single?
However, after much consideration and consultation with fellow Berry enthusiasts, it is the consensus that the Rock And Roll Music demo is most likely to have been cut at the 15 December 1956 session. With regards to the location of this session there is a tantalising titbit which has recently come to light from the 22 December 1956 edition of Cash Box (recently made available on the Internet) which states

Chuck Berry into Universal for LP this past week

thereby confirming the location of the session.
According to the notes and discography to the Missing Berries – Rarities Volume 3 CD the tune titled Untitled Instrumental was also cut in December 1956 but a question does remain over the songs supposedly recorded at the 21 January 1957 session. This session produced the 'A-sider' School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell) and three 'B' sides La Juanda, Deep Feeling and Blue Feeling plus the adulterated Low Feeling. The specific January date stems from the information provided in Chuck's autobiography whereas the Chess files as per Ruppli have the less specific December 1956 date. Again the consensus, based on all the available facts and careful listening to the aural evidence such as instrumentation, sound, and echo, is that these recordings were all made mid-December 1956 together with Rock And Roll Music demo and Untitled Instrumental either at one or more sessions.
It should be noted also that Chess experimented with overdubbing on a Berry song for the very first time on La Juanda as can be heard on the two variants. What is certain (apart from my personal reservations about the Rock And Roll Music demo) is the songs were recorded at Universal Studios (most likely studio B from the recollections of engineer Malcolm Chisholm). The 21 January 1957 session might well have been the time at which Blue Feeling was slowed by 26% with the second guitar break omitted and miraculously became Low Feeling.
The next session on the 6 or 15 May 1957 (or both dates?) produced two 'A' sides Rock And Roll Music and Oh Baby Doll together with three other cuts. Pinpointing the location of this session has proved difficult because it was just on the cusp of Chess's move from their South Cottage Grove site to the new office and studio at 2120 South Michigan Ave. Paul Petraitis has searched various contemporary business directories for the Chess locations and notes on The Real Chess Records Forum [no link given as access to this 'forum' is limited to customers of Facebook, Inc. which contradicts the idea of free information exchange as provided here]:

Chess Company (and related) Chicago street addresses: Aristocrat (September 1948 Directory) 5249 Cottage Grove...the company kept the same address through the June 1949 and June 1950 directories (when the address also included the Aristocrat Distributing Company)...by the October 1951 Directory the company was renamed Chess Recording company and it had moved to 4858 South Cottage Grove and remained there until the June 1954 directory when it was doing business at 4750 S. Cottage Grove...it was also listed as 4750-52...in the June 1957 book the company was at 2120 S. Michigan Avenue (according to data in the Recorder's Book of Deeds they bought 2120 on October 24th, 1956)...Billboard advertisements indicate the offices moved into 2120 between May 6th and May 13th 1957...On April 7, 1966 Chess buys 320 East 21st Street and moves their operations out of 2120...in 1969 the company is bought by GRT.

Another pointer to the date Chess occupied 2120 South Michigan Ave comes in the 18 May 1957 edition of Cashbox:

'We're finally moving' shouted Phil and Len Chess ... within the next two weeks, they hope, Chess will be in new quarters.

So it would appear that 2120 was occupied by Chess at the earliest on the 6 May and would be operational by the end of the month. The recording sessions on the 6 or 15 May are therefore most likely to have taken place at Universal studios. The December 1957 session and subsequent Berry sessions were at 2120 South Michigan Ave. called The Sheldon Recording Studio until 1958 when it became the Ter-Mar Studio.
In summary, the recording locations, recording dates and personnel noted above are revised to reflect the new information and all the sessions from May 1955 up to and including the May 1957 session were cut at Universal Studios following which Chess's own Sheldon Studio at 2120 became the main recording venue. The contents of our online Chuck Berry Database has been edited correspondingly.

[Addendum January 29, 2017: It should be noted that during the time of the Chuck Berry sessions at Universal the studio itself changed locations. The exact date of the move is unknown, but an advertisement in the July 28, 1956 edition of Cash Box tells: "Universal Recording Corporation now located at our new studios 46 East Walton St., Chicago 11, Illinois". Thus we can safely assume that Chuck Berry's Universal sessions of October and December 1956 as well as of May 1957 were held at E. Walton Street.]

Fred and Dietmar would like to thank Arne, Thierry and Morten as well as Michel Ruppli for the many hours and emails resulting in this article and the correction of the discographies.