Following the death of the rock icon Chuck Berry this past Saturday, Berry’s family confirmed that Chuck, the album that Berry had been working on at the time of his death would still be released in the future. Berry had announced the new album on his 90th birthday on October 18th of last year, making it the first solo album he’d worked on in over 38 years.
Today, the first track has been released. “Big Boys” is one of 10 tracks on the album Chuck, which comes 38 years after his 1979 Rock It. In addition to Berry, Chuck also features Charles Berry Jr. (guitar) and Ingrid Berry (harmonica), two of his children, in addition to Jimmy Marsala (bass), Robert Lohr (piano), and Keith Robinson (drums) to round out the band. You can check out the official statement from Berry’s family below.
On his 90th birthday last October of 2016, Berry announced that he was releasing a new album, and dedicating it to his wife of 68 years who he called “Toddy.” In a statement he said, “My darlin’ I’m growing old! I’ve worked on this record for a long time. Now I can hang up my shoes!”
Listen to “Big Boys” below: