Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
Rising from the ashes, came a young boy with a great art for music. Chuck Berry, a renowned American guitarist, singer and songwriter recorded one of the most popular songs of all time, Johnny B. Goode. Listed as number 8 on the billboard pop chart, Johnny B. Goode is not only considered as one of Chuck Berry’s most important songs, but probably his most famous. It has become one of the most enduring classics and is definitely known to be his signature song.
Johnny B. Goode is a rock & roll version of the ‘American Dream’, depicting a poor and underprivileged boy who aspires for stardom. A talented guitar boy who’s not deterred by anything, constantly plays the guitar by the railroad track ‘strumming to the rhythm that the drivers made’. This song which portrays the message of hope, has been acknowledged by Berry himself as being autobiographical. The country boy is in essence a depiction of Berry himself as he climbed the ladder to stardom. In clearer reference to Berry, the original words of the song were ‘colored boy’, however Berry was required to change them to ‘country boy’ in order to ensure radio play. It is said that the track name, Johnny B. Goode was chosen as Berry lived in a street in St. Louis called Goode Avenue.
He use to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
And sit beneath the trees by the railroad track.
Oh, the engineers used to see him sitting in the shade,
Strumming to the rhythm that the drivers made.
People passing by would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play
The song which features Willie Dixon on bass, Fred Below on the drums, Lafayette Leake on the piano and Chuck Berry as the vocalist and guitarist, is said to have been inspired by Johnnie Johnson, a colleague of Berry. Also influenced by the influential R&B singer Louis Jordan, Berry’s guitar intro for Johnny. B Goode was adapted from Jordan’s song Ain’t That Just Like A Woman. It seems to me as though Johnny B. Goode was a song created not only from the influences in Berry’s own life, but a song produced from the many outside influences in Chuck Berry’s life!
Johnny B. Goode was received with such ovation, that it was followed by two more songs about Johnny, Bye Bye Johnny, which tells the story of Johnny as a grown man, and Go Go Go. Johnny B. Goode also became the cover song for 25 other artists including the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Prince, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Sex Pistols. If you haven’t yet heard this infamous song, why not check out this free music download?
It is believed that the song was well received because of the cultural role it played. Prior to its release, no song had ever delved into or touched upon the ‘American Dream’. Audiences loved the song so much that Chuck Berry has performed some great duets on Johnny B. Goode.
“With Johnny B. Goode, Berry stroke a chord of hope for the people of the world, creating a new thread to the themes that can be addressed by the music repertoire… The message of hope was identified and understood by many, making Johnny B. Goode an pop icon that has since been utilized by the media to represent not only the essence of rock n’ roll, but also the attainable opportunities behind U.S.A.’s famous dictum”. [Guitarist Info]
The song received many honours, being listed number 7 on the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and FIRST on the Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. It was also featured in the 1985 film, Back To The Future. The song which was placed FIRST on the R&B charts was rated number 12 on Guitar World’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. Johnny B. Goode has also been included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock n Roll. Additionally, the song has been used in the presidential campaigns of candidates John Kerry and John McCain.
Also known as the Father of Rock and Roll, “Chuck Berry was the first person to make the English language into a poetry of Rock and Roll…He created the role of guitar hero. He created the first signature stage moves of rock and roll” [RockNRoll]. In comparison to other artists of the Rock and Roll genre, “none is important in the development of the music of Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest interpreters”. [Piano Music] The focus of his music on teen life definitely had an influence on his audiences.
Chuck Berry, now in his eighties, still plays once a month in a club, Blue Berry Hill. He had an interest in music from a very young age, giving his first public performance at Sumner high School. His insistence on being paid cash for his countless concerts at which he performed, landed him up serving a jail sentence and community service for his evasion of tax.
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