In the song the narrator is speaking to a long-distance operator, trying to find out the number of a girl named Marie, who lives in Memphis, Tennessee, "on the southside, high upon a ridge, just a half a mile from the Mississippi bridge".

[3] Chuck Berry later composed a sequel, "Little Marie", which appeared in 1964 as a single and on the album St. Louis to Liverpool.

One version that was recorded on July 30, 1963, for the Pop Go the Beatles radio show was included on Live at the BBC in 1994.

Another version that was recorded a few months later on October 5, 1963, for the Saturday Club radio show was included on On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 in 2013.

[5] John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono would later perform the song with Berry on an episode of The Mike Douglas Show, aired on February 16, 1972.