Johnny B. Goode

"Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock-and-roll song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. The song was a major hit among both black and white audiences, peaking at number 2 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number 8 on its Hot 100 chart.[1]

The song is one of Berry's most famous. It has been covered by many artists and has received several honors and accolades. It is also considered one of the most recognizable songs in music history. The song is ranked as number seven on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[2]

Contents 1 Composition and recording 1.1 Musicians 2 Legacy 3 Accolades 4 Cover versions 4.1 Cover versions that charted 4.2 The Beatles' version 4.2.1 Personnel 4.3 Other cover versions 4.4 Other songs 5 References

Composition and recording
Written by Berry in 1955, the song is about a "country boy" who plays a guitar "just like ringing a bell," and who might one day have his "name in lights."[3] Berry has acknowledged that the song is partly autobiographical and that the original lyrics referred to Johnny as a "colored boy", but he changed it to "country boy" to ensure radio play.[4] As well as suggesting that the guitar player is good, the title hints at autobiographic elements, because Berry was born at 2520 Goode Avenue, in St. Louis.[3] The song was initially inspired by Johnnie Johnson, the regular piano player in Berry's band,[5][6] but developed into a song mainly about Berry himself. Johnson played on many other recordings by Berry, but Lafayette Leake played the piano on this song.[3]

The opening guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode" is essentially a note-for-note copy of the opening single-note solo on Louis Jordan's "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" (1946), played by guitarist Carl Hogan.[7] Neither the guitar intro nor the solo are played at once. Berry played the introductory parts together with the rhythm guitar and later overdubbed the solo runs.[8]

Berry wrote two other songs involving the character Johnny B. Goode—"Bye Bye Johnny" and "Go Go Go"—and released an album of instrumental tracks entitled Concerto in B Goode.

Musicians Chuck Berry, vocals, lead guitar[3] Lafayette Leake, piano[3] Willie Dixon, bass[3] Fred Below, drums[3]

Legacy
Berry's recording of the song was included on the Voyager Golden Record, attached to the Voyager spacecraft as representing rock and roll, one of four American songs included among many cultural achievements of humanity.

When Chuck Berry was inducted into the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986, he performed "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock and Roll Music", backed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.[9] The Hall of Fame included these songs and "Maybellene" in their list of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.[10] It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, for its influence as a rock and roll single.[11]

In the 1984 film Threads, the song is heard three times. The first time is when core characters Ruth Beckett and Jimmy Kemp discuss the future of their relationship before the outbreak of nuclear war, in his car overlooking Sheffield. The second time is when Jimmy is at a pub, drinking with his mate. The last time is fourteen years after the nuclear holocaust, as Ruth and Jimmy's daughter Jane, heavily pregnant, struggles to find a hospital in which to give birth. The song seems to be emanating from a nightclub, pub or brothel within the devastated post-apocalyptic town.

In the 1985 film Back to the Future, Marty McFly performs the song with the fictional band Marvin Berry and the Starlighters during the "Enchantment Under the Sea" high school dance, set in November 1955.[12] Mark Campbell (of Jack Mack and the Heart Attack fame) sang the vocals and Tim May played the guitar, with Michael J. Fox shown miming to both. This scene was revisited in Back to the Future Part II (1989). During Marty's rendition of the song, Marvin telephones his cousin Chuck, to have him hear what might be the "new sound" Chuck is looking for.

During his time in World Championship Wrestling, Marc Mero wrestled under the ring name Johnny B. Badd, an homage to the song.

This song plays whenever Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau scores, as well as Tampa Bay Lightning's Tyler Johnson.

Accolades
List

Publisher

Rank

Year of publication

500 Greatest Songs of All Time Rolling Stone 7 2010 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Q 42 2005 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time Rolling Stone 1 2008 Top 3000 Songs Acclaimed Music 6 N/A 500 Songs That Shaped Rock Rock and Roll Hall of Fame N/A 1995 50 Greatest Guitar Solos Guitar World 12 2009

Cover versions
Cover versions that charted

"Johnny Be Good"

Single by Judas Priest

from the album Ram It Down

B-side "Rock You All Around the World" (live)

Released 1988

Format 7" 45 RPM, 12" maxi

Recorded 1987

Genre Heavy metal

Length 4:36

Label Columbia

Writer(s) Chuck Berry

Producer(s) Tom Allom, Glenn Tipton, K. K. Downing, Rob Halford

Judas Priest singles chronology

"Ram It Down/Heavy Metal" (1988) "Johnny Be Good" (1988) "Painkiller" (1990)

Country musician Buck Owens's version of "Johnny B. Goode" topped Billboard magazine's Hot Country Sides chart in 1969.[13]

Jimi Hendrix had a posthumous hit with "Johnny B. Goode", which peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1972[14] and number 13 on the New Zealand Top 50 in 1986.[15]

Peter Tosh's version of the song peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100,[16] number 48 on the UK Singles Chart,[17] number 10 in the Netherlands, and number 29 in New Zealand.[18]

Judas Priest's version reached number 64 on the UK Singles Chart in 1988.[14]

The Beatles' version

"Johnny B. Goode"

Song by The Beatles from the album Live at the BBC

Released 30 November 1994 (UK) 5 December 1994 (US)

Recorded 7 January 1964, Playhouse Theatre, London, for the BBC radio show Saturday Club

Length 2:51

Label Apple

Writer(s) Chuck Berry

Producer(s) Bernie Andrews[19]

The Beatles recorded their version of "Johnny B. Goode" on 7 January 1964 at the Playhouse Theatre in London for the BBC radio show Saturday Club. Chuck Berry was a favorite among the Beatles. They had previously and subsequently recorded versions of other songs by Berry, including "Roll Over Beethoven", released on the album With the Beatles in 1963, and "Rock and Roll Music", released on Beatles for Sale in 1964, and several others that subsequently were released on Live at the BBC.[19]

Personnel John Lennon, vocals, rhythm guitar Paul McCartney, bass George Harrison, lead guitar Ringo Starr, drums

Personnel according to The Beatles Bible[19]

Other cover versions

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Other artists who have covered the song include the following:

AC/DC Aerosmith Adam Ant Alvin and the Chipmunks Azra (Đoni, budi dobar) Bad Religion The Beach Boys Big Tom and The Mainliners Bon Jovi Bravo Marc Broussard Roy Buchanan Andrés Calamaro The Carpenters Cidade Negra The Coasters Coldplay together with actor Michael J. Fox during a concert in New York John Denver Dion Celine Dion Dr. Feelgood Micky Dolenz Johnny Dowd Earthlings? John Farnham Five Iron Frenzy Freddie & the Dreamers Rory Gallagher Danny Gatton The Grateful Dead Green Day The Guess Who Bill Haley & His Comets Johnny Hallyday Hanson Will Hoge Buddy Holly Tomoyasu Hotei Al Hurricane James Gang Jay and the Americans Jim & Jesse Elton John B.B. King King Lizard Al Kooper Jonny Lang Legion of Mary Julian Lennon Jerry Lee Lewis Living Colour LL Cool J (sampled in "Go Cut Creator Go") Lynyrd Skynyrd Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge, concert duet with Suzi Quatro in Germany in 2006 Phillip Magee Frank Marino John Mayer Trio Meat Loaf Eddie Meduza MF Doom Mina Mister Twister NOFX NRBQ Off Kilter Operation Ivy Partibrejkers (Stoj, Džoni) Wes Paul Phish Pink Fairies Elvis Presley Prince Ratdog Cliff Richard Johnny Rivers The Rolling Stones The Routers Shogo Sakai (Mother 3, as "New Age Retro Hippie") Carlos Santana Bon Scott (with Cheap Trick) Sex Pistols The Shadows Skrewdriver Slade Slaughter & The Dogs Status Quo The Stimulators Stray Cats Los Suaves Keiichi Suzuki (EarthBound, as "New Age Retro Hippie") Hirokazu Tanaka (EarthBound, as "New Age Retro Hippie") George Thorogood TISM ("Johnny to B. or Not to B. Goode") The Toasters The Tornadoes Twisted Sister Conway Twitty Nobuo Uematsu The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Ultraje a Rigor Uncle Tupelo Roch Voisine The Who Brian Wilson Johnny Winter

Other songs

Leo Sayer included "The Last Gig of Johnny B. Goode", a song about a fallen rock star, on his 1975 album, Another Year.