"Johnny B. Goode"
One of side-A labels of original US single
Single by Chuck Berry
B-side"Around and Around"
Released1958
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)
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"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 early and later 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".[5] Berry 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.[6] 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.[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 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on January 23, 1986, he performed "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock and Roll Music", backed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.[13] The Hall of Fame included these songs and "Maybellene" in their list of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.[14] It was inducted into the 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, country musician Buck Owens's version topped Billboard magazine's Hot Country Sides chart.[16] In 1972, Jimi Hendrix had a posthumous hit with a live version, which peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart.[17] and number 13 on the New Zealand Top 50 in 1986.[18] Peter Tosh's rendition peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100,[19] number 48 on the UK Singles Chart,[20] number 10 in the Netherlands, and number 29 in New Zealand in 1983.[21] In 1988, Judas Priest's version reached number 64 on the UK Singles Chart.[17] 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, travelling into deep space outside the solar system.

A cover version is featured in the film Back to the Future (1985), when the lead character Marty McFly, played by actor Michael J. Fox, performs it at a high school dance. 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 Stone72004
50 Greatest Guitar Solos[23]Guitar World122009
100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time[24]Rolling Stone12008
100 Greatest Guitar Tracks[25]Q422005
500 Greatest Songs of All Time[3]Rolling Stone332021
500 Songs That Shaped Rock[26]Rock and Roll Hall of FameN/A1995

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[31]
sales since 2009 		Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 42. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  2. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 Taylor, Timothy D. (2000). "Chapter 7 – His Name Was in Lights: Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode'". In Middleton, Richard (ed.). Reading Pop: Approaches to Textual Analysis in Popular Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 165–167, 177. 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. 1 2 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. ↑ Miller, James (1999). Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947–1977. Simon & Schuster. p. 104. 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. ↑ "Grammy Hall of Fame – Past Recipients (Letter J)". The Grammy Awards. United States: 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. 1 2 "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. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  28. ↑ "Charts & Awards: Chuck Berry – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  29. ↑ Downey, Pat; Albert, George; Hoffmann, Frank (1994). Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. p. 26. 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 September 2, 2021.
  33. ↑ "American single certifications – Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
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