Johnny B. Goode

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the posthumous live album by Jimi Hendrix, see Johnny B. Goode (album).

"Johnny B. Goode"
One of side-A labels of original US single
Single by Chuck Berry
B-side"Around and Around"
ReleasedMarch 31st, 1958
Recorded1958
StudioChess, Chicago
GenreRock and roll
Length2:39
LabelChess
Songwriter(s)Chuck Berry
Producer(s)Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
Chuck Berry singles chronology
"Sweet Little Sixteen"
(1958) 		"Johnny B. Goode"
(1958) 		"Beautiful Delilah"
(1958)
Audio sample

"Johnny B. Goode" is a song by American musician Chuck Berry, written and sung by Berry in 1958. Released as a single in 1958, it peaked at number two on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart.[1] The song remains a staple of rock music.

"Johnny B. Goode" is considered one of the most recognizable songs in the history of popular music. Credited as "the first rock & roll hit about rock & roll stardom",[2] it has been covered by various other artists and has received several honors and accolades. These include being ranked 33rd on Rolling Stones's 2021 version[3] and 7th on the 2004 version of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[2][4] and included as one of the 27 songs on the Voyager Golden Record, a collection of music, images, and sounds designed to serve as a record of humanity.

Composition and recording

Written by Berry in 1955, the song is about a semi-literate "country boy" from the New Orleans area, who plays a guitar "just like ringing a bell", and who might one day have his "name in lights".

St. Louis.[5]

The song was initially inspired by Johnnie Johnson, the regular piano player in Berry's band,[7] but developed into a song mainly about Berry himself. Johnson played on many recordings by Berry, but for the Chess recording session Lafayette Leake played the piano, along with Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums.[5][8] The session was produced by Leonard and Phil Chess.[8] The guitarist Keith Richards later suggested that the song's chords are more typical of compositions written for piano than for guitar.[9]

The opening guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode" borrows from the opening single-note solo on Louis Jordan's "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" (1946), played by guitarist Carl Hogan.[10]

Legacy

A golden record
The Voyager Golden Record contains "Johnny B. Goode" among various musical pieces from many cultures.

In The Guardian, Joe Queenan wrote that "Johnny B. Goode" is "probably the first song ever written about how much money a musician could make by playing the guitar", and argued that "no song in the history of rock'n'roll more jubilantly celebrates the downmarket socioeconomic roots of the genre".[11] In Billboard, Jason Lipshutz stated that the song was "the first rock-star origin story", and that it featured "a swagger and showmanship that had not yet invaded radio."[12]

When Chuck Berry was inducted during the first

Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, for its influence as a rock and roll single.[15]

"Johnny B. Goode" has been recorded by a wide variety of artists in different genres. In 1969,

The Sex Pistols also covered it for their soundtrack The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
in 1979.

Devo paid homage to the Chuck Berry song with their own song Come Back Jonee on its debut album Q. Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!.

The song is included, as the eleventh track of disc 1, in the Voyager Golden Record, traveling into deep space outside the solar system.

A cover version is featured in the film

bootstrap paradox. Fox explained his approach was to "incorporate all the characteristics and mannerisms and quirks of my favourite guitarists, so a Pete Townshend windmill, and Jimi Hendrix behind the back, and a Chuck Berry duckwalk. And we worked all that in."[22]

Accolades

List Publisher Rank Year of publication
500 Greatest Songs of All Time[2] Rolling Stone 7 2004
50 Greatest Guitar Solos[23] Guitar World 12 2009
100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time[24] Rolling Stone 1 2008
100 Greatest Guitar Tracks[25] Q 42 2005
500 Greatest Songs of All Time[3] Rolling Stone 33 2021
500 Songs That Shaped Rock[26] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame N/A 1995

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[31]
sales since 2009 		Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-89820-068-7
    .
  2. ^ a b c "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 7. Chuck Berry, 'Johnny B. Goode'". Rolling Stone. April 7, 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Chuck Berry, 'Johnny B. Goode'". Rolling Stone (2021 ed.). September 15, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone (2004 ed.). December 11, 2003. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-19-816611-7
    .
  6. ^ "Johnny B. Goode". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 28, 2006. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  7. ^ Ratliff, Ben (April 14, 2005). "Johnnie Johnson, 80, Dies; Inspired 'Johnny B. Goode'". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Altman, Billy (1988). Chuck Berry: The Chess Box (Box set booklet). Chuck Berry. Universal City, California: MCA Records/Chess Records. CHD3-80,001.
  9. ^ Hackford, Taylor (1987), Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Delilah Films
  10. ISBN 0-684-80873-0
    .
  11. ^ Queenan, Joe (June 21, 2007). "The story of Johnny B Goode". The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  12. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (March 18, 2017). "How Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' Helped Define 'Back to the Future'". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Barker, Derek (2009). Liner notes to Bruce Springsteen's Jukebox: The Songs that Inspired the Man [CD]. Chrome Dreams.
  14. ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll by Artists (A-C)". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 24, 2007.
  15. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original
    on January 22, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  16. ^ "Charts & Awards: Buck Owens – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Johnny B. Goode - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  18. ^ ""Johnny B. Goode" by Jimi Hendrix". New Zealand Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  19. ^ "Charts & Awards: Peter Tosh – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  20. ^ "Peter Tosh: Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  21. ^ ""Johnny B. Goode" by Peter Tosh" (ASP). australian-charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  22. ^ Wakeman, Gregory (June 12, 2020). "Madonna's Choreographer Helped Michael J Fox Perfect Back To The Future's Iconic Johnny B Goode Scene".
    Yahoo.com
    . Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  23. ^ "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". Guitar World. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  24. ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2008. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  25. ^ Q Magazine. "Rocklist.net...Q Magazine Lists." rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  26. ^ "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. February 27, 2009. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  27. ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  28. ^ "Charts & Awards: Chuck Berry – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  29. ISBN 1563083167
    . Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  30. ^ "Chuck Berry Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  31. ^ "Italian single certifications – Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 26, 2020. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Johnny B. Goode" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  32. ^ "British single certifications – Chuck Berry – Johnny B Goode". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  33. ^ "American single certifications – Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
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