Chuck Berry Rarities

I'm sorry for the long-winded heading of this blog post, but indeed this is the title of a new CD set I want to talk about today: Chuck Berry - 5 Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles and Rare Tracks (Real Gone RGMCD011, 2011).
Real Gone Music is a series of CD boxes from Mischief Music Ltd. (Music Melon). Other issues contain eight classic albums each of Elvis, Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, and more. The four CDs come in plastic multiboxes and look and feel like vinyl records.
As I said before, I usually do not discuss Greatest Hits albums or re-issues on this site as most of those are of very little interest to a collector. And in most cases I don't even spend any money on such so I don't have it and I do not talk about items here which I don't have.
However, when I recently found this CD set mentioned in a record catalog, I got me one. Four CDs, 87 tracks, at a price of five UK Pounds is an offer one can accept.
When I received the CDs today, I was astonished what I got. Albeit the song sequence is a bit strange, the CD offers everything the title promises, and more. Included are all the tracks from Chuck Berry's first five US albums. If you count the Chuck Berry Twist Greatest Hits album as well, it's even the six first original albums as released until 1962. In addition there are all recordings published during that period which made it only to singles instead of albums. Thus you get everything which was available from Berry during his most successful period.
But there's more. The "rare" tracks mentioned in the title are thirteen recordings originally released on the bootleg LP "America's Hottest Wax" (Reelin' 001, 1979) and later on Chess CXMP 2011 "Chess Masters" in March 1983. Only the 1961 version of Brown Eyed Handsome Man from this album is missing.
These rarities include the Ecuadors tracks published on Argo 5353 in 1959. And finally there are the two Joe Alexander tracks first published 1954 which are said to contain the first Chuck Berry recording.
So we get a fairly complete set of Berry releases at a very reasonable price. What we don't get is a booklet or any additional information besides a track listing and release data. Thus there are no recording details nor even composer credits. The song listing is full of spelling errors and, as said before, the song sequence is quite strange. Basically there are the five albums in chronological order with the tracks in the sequence originally used. The additional single tracks are included at their release date, and the rarities (released 1979) are included at their recording date.
Therefore you'll find the first 1955 recordings here: Maybellene on CD 3, track 3, as it's first album release on Berry is on Top was in 1959. Wee Wee Hours is on CD 1, track 14 due to being part of After School Session (1957). Thirty Days is on CD 1, track 3, since it never made it to one of the early albums thus placed in 1955. And so on.
Besides this strange sequence and the missing booklet, for little money you get a good CD set and lot's of early Berry recordings. Recommended. You can get the album at most record shops. Click here for a list.


Late addition: I should have listened to all the tracks first instead of writing. Morten Reff was so kind to point out that CD 2 contains the alt. take of "Sweet Little Sixteen" twice. Instead the song's 1958 hit version is missing. Thanks, Morten.

I wonder why - ok, that's not a Berry tune.
But I really wonder why someone creates and offers a CD such as "Chuck Berry - Chess Studio Outtakes" (no label, no number, no date).
A reader recently found this CD in an online catalogue and asked me if I knew anything about this release. Well, I know very little but what I know is more than enough.
The CD contains 29 tracks, all of them alternative takes originally not selected for publication. It comes with a nice, professionally looking cover and label, though after closer inspection it looks pretty home-made.
All of the tracks are very well known. In fact all of the tracks are just copies of the same tracks as published on the 4-CD set "Johnny B. Goode (HIP-O-Select B0009473-02)" in 2008.
So why would you want to but this CD if you can get the same contents plus additional three CDs full of Berry and additional studio outtakes and a great booklet and great packaging for around $100 (current retail price for the complete set)? Even if you do not care whether musicians or legal record companies receive income from your payment. (You should - as if you don't who's going to create the next album with really interesting stuff?)
Thus leave this bootleg in the shelves. If you don't have the outtakes already, run and get one of the few copies of the 4-CD set left (e.g. by clicking here).

There are various white-label not-for-resale records containing Chuck Berry material. For a full discussion see this site's chapter on Radio and Promotional Records.
From Italy there are some not-for-sale records which seem to be used in jukeboxes only. At least this is what the two Italian singles below say.
CADET 2742 is the same as the original US single Tulane b/w Have Mercy, Judge and as such could be a normal DJ copy.
Durium 7811 however is different. It contains the 1972 live version of Reelin' and Rockin', though shortened to 2:45 minutes. The usual single edit is approximately four and a half minutes long. This edited version is ONLY available on this Italian record. In addition the song is coupled with a different artist's hit: Don't Ha Ha by Casey Jones is on the flip side. This indeed does not look like a DJ Copy but as if produced exclusively for jukebox use.

There are two questions: Does anyone know of other jukebox-only records? And especially for our Italian readers: Have these records only used in jukeboxes? Write a comment if you know something about these singles.
[Addition thanks to Morten Reff:] The same shortened version of Reelin' and Rockin' is also on the Italian single Cadet (Durium) DE-2796, though with Berry's I Will Not Let You Go on the flip side.

When I first wrote about the new series of 16 Chuck Berry album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan, I complained that I do not understand why they do not offer hard, rigid boxes with the Mini-LPs to keep them safe.
I'm not alone as I learned. For some reason, Japanese album replicas are always sold in paper sleeves only. Only in rare circumstances a CD manufacturer will put several albums of a series in a box, though these then do not sell separately.
However, there's a market for Mini-LP boxes. To put the albums in a safe place, some companies offer blank boxes to carry a certain number of Mini-LPs. Here's one offer: Blank Mini-LP Boxes
And then there is a huge Japanese record shop chain called Disk Union. They sell many Mini-LPs and they want you to buy all of a series, not just the few you really want. Therefore Disk Union often produces promotional boxes which not only are huge enough to hold the whole series, but also are printed with information about the series or with the cover of one of the albums contained. For the Chuck Berry series Disk Union has produced two different boxes, one to hold the first eight albums, a second to hold the remaining eight Mini-LPs. These boxes are NOT sold separately. The only way to get them is to purchase the complete set of albums with it. And these boxes are not shipped by Disk Union to buyers outside Japan.
I have not been able to get the boxes from Disk Union or even a good photo thereof, although they were very responsive to my queries. However, thanks to Douglas Caldwell and Tiger Mountain Music I am able to show good photos of the boxes. Tiger Mountain Music imports the Disk Union sets from Japan and resells them from Canada. If you are interested in buying the boxes (and the included albums), check out their eBay store at Tiger-Mountain-Music.

These photos are copyrighted by Tiger Mountain Music and used here with permission. Click on the images to see the box in detail.
Here's a link to an offer of the two boxes by Tiger Mountain Music: click
For more information about Mini-LP boxes in general, visit the minilps.net site.

Sorry for letting you wait for the final remarks on the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's the fourth summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues. [Read part 1] [Read part 2] [Read part 3]
These are the last three albums originally released by Chess Records in the 1970s. And for some reason only known to the Japanese compilers, they also added a re-issue of the single Chuck Berry album released by MCA in the late 1980s. As you can see, the bonus tracks are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets, again added where they fit.

Album	Original Number	Re-issue Number	Bonus Tracks
The London Chuck Berry Sessions	CHESS CH-60020	UICY-94636	the five additional recordings from the Lancaster Arts Festival the single edits of Roll 'Em Pete and My Ding-A-Ling South of the Border (live BBC 1972)
Bio	CHESS CH-50043	UICY-94637	Blues #1 Annie Lou Me and My Country One Sixty Nine AM Roll Away
Chuck Berry (1975)	CHESS CH-60032	UICY-94638	Turn On the House Lights Jambalaya The Song of My Love Johnny B. Blues Dust My Broom Here Today Rockin'
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll	MCA MCA-6217	UICY-94639	no bonus tracks

Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.

While the computer behind me is busy doing some heavy-duty calculations, I'll add some more information about the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's the third summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues, one more to follow. [Read part 1] [Read part 2]
As you can see, these are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets. In contrast to a strict chronological sequence, the compilers in Japan tried to put the alternate takes and versions close to the originally released ones. Recordings not used in the 1950s are placed where they fit chronologically (mostly).

Album	Original Number	Re-issue Number	Bonus Tracks
Chuck Berry in London	CHESS LP 1495	UICY-94632	Chuckwalk Liverpool Drive Chuck's Beat (long LP version) Bo's Beat (long LP version) Spending Christmas
Fresh Berry's	CHESS LP 1498	UICY-94633	Shake Rattle & Roll (teke 23) Wee Wee Hours (inst.) Honey Hush (take 3) My Mustang Ford (inst.) My Mustang Ford (stereo remix) It Wasn't Me (stereo remix) Sad Day, Long Night His Daughter Caroline (fast)
Back Home	CHESS LPS-1550	UICY-94634	Untitled Instrumental (1969) My Ding-A-Ling (1969) Gun (fast) Gun (slow That's None of Your Business My Pad (poem)
San Francisco Dues	CHESS CH-50008	UICY-94635	Ramona Say Yes Ramona Say Yes (alt. mix) Lonely School Days (slow)

Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.

As promised, I try to report more about the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's a second summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues, more to follow. [Read part 1]
As you can see, these are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets. In contrast to a strict chronological sequence, the compilers in Japan tried to put the alternate takes and versions close to the originally released ones. Recordings not used in the 1950s are placed where they fit chronologically (mostly).

Album	Original Number	Re-issue Number	Bonus Tracks
New Juke Box Hits	CHESS LP 1456	UICY-94628	I Got to Find My Baby (stereo remix) Bye Bye Johnny (stereo remix) Run Around (stereo remix) Jaguar And Thunderbird Down the Road Apiece (stereo remix) I'm Just a Lucky So And So Route 66 (stereo remix) Come On Come On (alt.) Adulteen Go Go Go (alt.) Go Go Go Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (inst.) Brown-Eyed Handsome Man (stereo remix)
Twist	CHESS LP 1465	UICY-94629	Brown-Eyed Handsome Man Too Much Monkey Business Memphis, Tennessee Nadine (Is It You?) Promised Land No Particular Place to Go My Ding-A-Ling (1972 single) Now this compilation is strange as several bonus tracks were not even recorded when the original album was released. And what has Ding-A-Ling to do here???
On Stage	CHESS LP 1480	UICY-94630	all 11 tracks from the 1963 Detroit concert first published on You Never Can Tell - His Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966 (HIP-O-Select B0012485-02, 2009) Read more on this Japanese release ...
St. Louis to Liverpool	CHESS LP 1488	UICY-94631	Nadine (Is It You?) The Little Girl From Central I'm In the Danger Zone FrauleinO Rangutang (unfaded instrumental) Big Ben (Blues)

Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.

CHESS LP 1480, Chuck Berry On Stage, is one of the strangest albums released during Chuck Berry's work with Chess Records.
Released while Berry was in jail, the Chess brothers had no new material available. Therefore they looked through their archive and found some lower quality tracks from older sessions. Even combined with some greatest hits, the album did not look as if it could be a commercial success. Thus, the Chess brothers went one step further.
By adding noise from an audience crowd and some shouting MC they made the album look like it would have been recorded live in concert. Next they changed the titles of some songs for further obfuscation. So Sweet Little Sixteen became Surfing USA, and Let It Rock became Rocking on the Railroad.
It didn't help and interest for this album was low. Seems like record buyers are not as stupid as companies want to believe.
When CDs became popular, nobody expected sales from re-releasing this album. Especially as the previously unreleased tracks became available without the fake applause over the years, one after the other which, however, took until 2009. If you were interested to listen to the original album with all the damage Chess introduced, you had to go to your Vinyl collection.
Finally, as part of the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan, CHESS LP 1480 is available on CD now!



The CD contains the original contents of the CHESS album including all the fake applause and shouts. It also includes How High the Moon which was not listed on the original cover, though on the disk. To fill up the re-issue CD, Universal added a true live concert from 1963, which makes the album title correct in some sense. The Detroit concert has been published before on You Never Can Tell - His Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966 (HIP-O-Select B0012485-02, 2009). Note that the "enhanced" versions having the fake applause were omitted from that complete set. Here they are, finally.
To get the Japanese re-issue, click here: UICY-94630

As promised, I try to report more about the new series of album replicas issued by Universal Music Japan.
Here's a first summary of bonus tracks hidden on the re-issues, more to follow.
As you can see, these are the same recordings as published on the American four-CD sets. In contrast to a strict chronological sequence, the compilers in Japan tried to put the alternate takes and versions close to the originally released ones. Recordings not used in the 1950s are placed where they fit chronologically (mostly).

Album	Original Number	Re-issue Number	Bonus Tracks
After School Session	CHESS LP 1426	UICY-94624	You Can't Catch Me I've Changed Untitled instrumental (1956) Maybellene (live WINS) Roll Over Beethoven (live WINS) Rock and Roll Music (demo) Thirteen Question Method (early version) Sweet Little Sixteen (demo) Sweet Little Sixteen (take 3) Night Beat (take 3) Time Was (slow, take 4) Time Was (slow) Reelin' and Rockin' (take 1) Merry Christmas Baby
One Dozen Berrys	CHESS LP 1432	UICY-94625	Rock and Roll Music (alt.) Sweet Little Sixteen (take 11) Sweet Little Sixteen (original master) Reelin' and Rockin' (take 7/8) Johnny B. Goode (take 2/3) Around and Around (overdub take 2) Around and Around (overdub (take 3) Ingo (overdub take 3) Beautiful Delilah (take 15/16) Beautiful Delilah (take 6) 21 Blues 21 21 (take 14) Vacation Time
Berry is on Top	CHESS LP 1435	UICY-94626	Oh Yeah Time Was (fast) House of Blue Lights Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller (take 5) Long Fast Jam Long Slow Jam Run Rudolph Run Little Queenie (take 8 ) That's My Desire Do You Love Me (alt.) Do You Love Me
Rockin' at the Hops	CHESS LP 1448	UICY-94627	Almost Grown (take 14) Almost Grown (take 28) Blue on Blue (Upchuck) Blue on Blue Betty Jean (take 14) Betty Jean (take 17) County Line Childhood Sweetheart (alt.) One O'Clock Jump I Just Want to Make Love to You (take 3) Broken Arrow (take 21) Let It Rock (alt. mix) Too Pooped to Pop (take 4A) Say You'll Be Mine (Equadors) Let Me Sleep Woman (Equadors)

Note: Clicking on the re-issue number takes you to sellers of this CD.

Great news for Chuck Berry collectors!
Over the last years, the U.S. branch of Universal Music provided us with three superb four-CD sets documenting Chuck Berry's complete recordings for CHESS Records from 1955 to 1975 including many previously unissued tracks:

• Johnny B. Goode - His Complete '50s Chess Recordings (HIP-O-Select B0009473-02, 2008)
• You Never Can Tell - His Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966 (HIP-O-Select B0012485-02, 2009)
• Have Mercy - His Complete Chess Recordings 1969-1974 (HIP-O-Select B0013790-02, 2010)

Now, the Japanese branch of Universal Music fulfills another long-standing collectors' wish: Perfect CD re-issues of Berry's original CHESS albums.
In a series called the "Chuck Berry 55 Papersleeve Edition", Universal Music Japan re-released 15 original CHESS albums and one MCA album. Of most interest is that this includes albums previously not available on CD such as Bio, Back Home, or San Francisco Dues. Each album is sold separately, but many collectors will want to get the whole set. Unfortunately the retail price of 2,800 Yen translate to approximately $35 each, plus packaging, postage, customs and taxes.
If you can afford buying some, you will be glad to get:

• a 100% exact replica of the original album sleeve scaled to CD size. This includes the exact printing of the original US edition, even on the spine. Bio and The London Sessions come in their original gatefold cover. And they even managed to duplicate the paper texture, e.g. of the London Sessions album.
• an audio CD of SHM-CD type. This CDs are made from a special enhanced transparency polycarbonate material (Super High Material) said to improve sound quality. It plays on every CD player, though.
• a many-page booklet containing a preface by Marshall Chess, recording data for all songs, complete lyrics, and a long description of the album by Kazuhiro Uda, that one unfortunately in Japanese language only.

Given this high-quality outfit, two things are a bit astonishing. First of all, the CD does not come in a hard box. You just get a plastic envelope which includes the papersleeve and the typical obi strip. This "tasuki" is common to Japanese CDs and includes information about the CD such as price or track listing, all in Japanese language. Secondly, because the obi strip is lost easily, you are left with the papersleeve, which contains absolutely no indication of its Japanese origin.
And without the obi strip and its Japanese-language track listing you might easily overlook another important aspect of these re-releases: Bonus Tracks!
While the original London Sessions album contains five studio tracks and three tracks from the Coventry concert, this re-issue has another eight tracks. This includes the five additional songs from Coventry as released on Have Mercy - His Complete Chess Recordings 1969-1974 (HIP-O-Select B0013790-02, 2010), the single edits of both Roll 'Em Pete and My Ding-A-Ling, and the live version of South of the Border from the 1972 BBC concert in London.
I will try to find out which additional bonus tracks are on the remaining CDs, but I guess they used all or most of the additional tracks from the American four-CD sets. Stay tuned.



Currently these CDs seem to not be stocked by the typical Internet shops. The only offers I found so far were on eBay:

• Set 1 of eight papersleeve albums of the 1950s and 1960s
• Set 2 of eight papersleeve albums from In London to the birthday concert

Thanks to Morten, Andy, and the folks at Universal Music Japan for information about this release!

Radio station records and CDs contain pre-recorded radio shows produced by the large American broadcasting corporations or by dedicated companies. They are sent to the small FM stations all over the U.S.A. who don't have the funds or manpower to produce all their radio shows by themselves.
Collecting radio station records is one of the last true research projects in popular music as no catalogs exist to explain which records were produced and what they contain. Those radio station albums of interest to the Chuck Berry collector are listed in a special section of this page. View here.
Most radio station records contain a DJ playing popular hits. That's far from interesting. Some shows, though, contain material not available on records or CDs anywhere else. With Chuck Berry these are several interviews which made it to radio station albums. And there even is a live concert available on a radio station album which is not published anywhere else.
So when fellow collector Hans recently found another radio station album claiming to contain Chuck Berry Live, I was very interested to learn more about it.
The show Hans found is part of the Cruisin' America with Cousin Brucie series published by CBS RADIORADIO (no typo). The three-hour show was to be broadcast on April 22-24, 1988. It contains the usual hit selection from Tutti Frutti to Who'll stop the rain.
At the end of the program in hour three, segment four finally comes In Concert: Chuck Berry with three songs: Memphis, Tennessee, Maybellene, and Johnny B. Goode. But if you expected to listen to unreleased material, you'd be disappointed. The first two are the standard Chess recordings with live audience dubbed onto them. They are taken from the original Chess fake-live album Chuck Berry On Stage. The third song indeed is a live recording, but a very well known one taken from the 1972 Chess album The London Sessions.
So while the contents itself was disappointing, learning about this show was not. Thanks to Hans for letting us know and providing the scan below.

Strange things happen ...

While I was busy earning some money, someone decided they could earn some money as well.

By re-releasing the "After School Session" album ...

In mono ...

On Vinyl !!!

Yes: Doxy Records DOY 608, released in the UK in February 2009 is a NEW vinyl album. It comes on 180g vinyl in mono. It uses the original front cover, but has DOXY printed in the upper right corner where we used to read CHESS.

All this information is from descriptions I found on the net. I have not seen a physical copy and I do not intend to spent money for it, but if you do, let me know some more details.

Here's a link to a sellers page: offer on ebay

In 1999 CBS produced and broadcast a four-hour mini-series called "Shake, Rattle And Roll: An American Love Story". The series runs through the 1950s Rock'n'Roll history by following a fictional band called The HartAches. Many well-known artists are portrayed such as Elvis, Little Richard, or Bill Haley. Chuck Berry is played by actor Cornelius Bates. I have not seen this TV broadcast as it was not shown in Germany and the video tape seems to be sold out.
In addition to the movie, MCA produced a soundtrack CD (see here). Here you hear 1999 artists perform classical rock'n'roll songs such as Slippin' and Slidin' or Summertime Blues. These cover versions were used in the TV soundtrack. Also on the CD are two original tunes: The Chords' Sh-Boom and The Platters' Only You. Probably the most important track on the album is Fur Slippers written by Bob Dylan and performed by B. B. King. There is no Chuck Berry on the soundtrack CD.
However, and this is why I talk about it here in the Chuck Berry Rarities column, there IS a variant of this CD which contains Chuck Berry! As a "Musical Preview" MCA sent out a promotional CD to radio stations. It seems that this promo CD was sent out before the final soundtrack CD was completed. The HartAches' version of Side by side is missing on the promo CD, but there is an additional HartAches (i.e. Peter Beckett) recording: Lucille. Also only on the promotional variant of this CD there is a version of The Glow-Worm by a band called The Melody Knights, and there is Chuck Berry's Maybellene. Although this is the original master and not a re-recording, it makes this promotional CD another Chuck Berry Rarity.
Here is the cover of the promo CD which also differs from the final copy.

Do you have/know Maxi Singles containing Chuck Berry recordings? Sure, but what is a Maxi Single?
There is one Chuck Berry record I know of, which is labeled a Maxi Single: Chess UK 6145007 of March 1972 has a prominent MAXI SINGLE printing on its label. Other than that it looks like an ordinary 7-inch 45rpm single containing Rock and Roll Music. The flip side contains two songs, though: Johnny B. Goode and School Day. So how do you name this. Morten Reff lists this record as a single, Chess called it a Maxi Single, to me it's an EP.
When I hear record collectors talking about a Maxi Single, they are usually referring to a 12-inch (LP-size) record which is played at 45rpm just like a 7-inch single. 12" singles were common in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. And yes, there have been 12-inch maxis containing Chuck Berry recordings - as you can see on the image below:

In the center of the image is the small Chess 1972 Maxi Single. To the left you see another Chess record. Chess GCHX-101 from 1988 is listed by Morten Reff as an UK EP. To me it is an Italian Maxi Single. We're both correct, probably. The 12-inch record has two tracks on each side, so calling it an EP makes sense. It was pressed in Italy, but according to Morten distributed from the UK.
To the right is the famous DINO 12CHUCK1 record from 1991. It has two Chess recordings on one side and a mixed medley of nine Berry hits on the other. Origin is the UK. This DINO record was concurrently also released as a 7-inch single and as a CD-single.
Finally in the upper center of the image you see a promotional copy of 12CHUCK1. This is a bit strange for a promotional copy as it has completely blank labels and came in a completely white sleeve. I have no idea how a DJ would know what to play from it.
Do you know any other Maxi Single containing Chuck Berry recordings? I'm talking about 12-inch 45rpm records.

Rocksmuk is a 1972 Dutch LP which has been of interest to many Rock'n'Roll collectors because it included not only well-known hits, but also interviews with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
For many years this interview was found only on this rare album until it surfaced on several bootleg LPs and CDs in the late 1980s and 1990s. Because the original Rocksmuk LP contained hits from the Chess and Sun labels, most collectors saw this as a bootleg as well. As such it is listed on this site and in Morten Reff's Chuck Berry International Directory.

A few months ago, a Dutch reader complained about this classification:

On your site I see that you call this LP a bootleg.
However, it is a legal release from 1972 (not 1973).
One side has the Chess label, the other side has the Sun label.
For both labels the distribution rights came within the same company. By the look of it I guess it was Bovema (now EMI).
In 1972 the book "Pop smuk" (fl. 9,50) was published and this LP is an addition to that book. The book also has the interviews, but of course in print.
Both book and LP were legally widely available in bookshops.

First: Thanks, Luuk! It's always nice to get response from a reader as it shows someone is really reading your stuff.
Following Luuk's comment, I went to find the Popsmuk book he was talking about. It took some months to find a seller, but finally I got it:

The full title of the book is Popsmuk/Het Popjaarboek '72 by Pim Oets/Gijsbert Hanekroot, © 1972 Born nv.
So this proves Luuk's first remark: The book is from 1972 and as the sticker on the cover refers to the LP, that one should be from 1972 as well.
This however contradicts Fred Rothwell's statement who dates this interview to September 1973. Using the book we can correct Fred by quoting Pim Oets: "The interviews in this book have been made between September '71 and September '72 for the VARA radio program of same name [...] The sequence of the presentations is in chronological order." Given that Berry's interview is the next-to-last one, September '72 should be the best guess for the date of this interview.
The book in total contains 27 portraits from Ray Charles to Paul McCartney, each consisting of some very good photos by Gijsbert Hanekroot and some three pages of interview by Pim Oets. Berry's part is an extended version of the interview heard on the album.
The most interesting page in regard to the album is page 137, the next-to-last one. It contains a description of and a voucher for the Rocksmuk LP. As always, a click on this image gives you a better-readable version.

So what do we learn from this ad? First we find a label for the "elpee". While the album itself does not contain any label information other than Chess and Sun, the ad calls it Negram NQCS 1. According to Discogs, Negram was a "Dutch label, which was run by Hans Kellerman. In the late seventies it changed name to Bovema Negram, which was eventually acquired by EMI Holland." Negram indeed produced Chuck Berry records in the Netherlands such as Spotlight on Chuck Berry (Chess SPLO-3) or the Dutch version of the London Sessions album (at least according to Discogs). So here's Luuk almost correct. It wasn't called Bovema back then, but it seems Negram had rights to the Berry material.
Finally the ad contains a voucher on 7.50 Dutch Gulders to reduce the album price from Hfl. 17.50 to "een tientje" (ten). And it says the album is "leverbaar bij de erkende platenhandel", i.e. available in well-known record shops.
Given all that, I must accept Luuk's comments: Rocksmuk is most probably a legal release.