"Johnny B. Goode" | ||||||||||
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Single by Chuck Berry | ||||||||||
from the album Chuck Berry Is on Top | ||||||||||
B-side | "Around & Around" | |||||||||
Released | March 31, 1958 | |||||||||
Format | 7" 45 RPM, 10" 78 RPM | |||||||||
Recorded | January 6, 1958, Chess Studios, Chicago, Illinois | |||||||||
Genre | Rock and roll | |||||||||
Length | 2:41 | |||||||||
Label | Chess | |||||||||
Writer(s) | Chuck Berry | |||||||||
Producer(s) | Little "Bongo" Kraus | |||||||||
Chuck Berry singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Johnny Be Good" | ||||
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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 | ||||
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"Johnny B. Goode" | |
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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 |
"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.
The song is one of Berry's most famous. It has been recorded by many other 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".
Written by Berry in 1955, the song is about an illiterate "country boy" who plays a guitar "just like ringing a bell," and who might one day have his "name in lights." 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. 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 other recordings by Berry, but Lafayette Leake played the piano on this song.
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. 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.