Johnny B. Goode

“Johnny B. Goode” is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. Released as a single, it peaked at number two on Billboard magazine’s Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart. “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”, it has been recorded by many other artists and has received several honors and accolades, including being ranked seventh on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” 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. 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” 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. 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. The song was initially inspired by Johnnie Johnson, the regular piano player in Berry’s band 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. The session was produced by Leonard and Phil Chess. 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