johnny be good

"Johnny B. Goode" is a song by Chuck Berry that has come to be a universal rock and roll anthem, still played by popular musicans of all schools when they want to get the crowd going.

Berry's recording of the song was included on the Voyager Golden Record, attached to the Voyager spacecraft as representing rock and roll among other cultural achievements of humanity.

Berry wrote the piece in 1955 and released it in 1958. It is a rock and roll telling of the American dream - a poor country boy becoming a star by hard work and his skill at playing the guitar. Although partly autobiographical, the inspiration for the song is said to have been Johnnie Johnson who played the piano and composed several songs with Berry, and is considered a major contributor to the unmistakable Berry sound. On earlier unreleased takes Chuck sang "colored boy" instead of "country boy", but the Chess brothers decided that that would not sell. In reference to the boy's name, Berry was also born on Goode Avenue in St. Louis. [1]

The song's impact on the rock 'n' roll world is immeasurable. Virtually every guitarist learns to play it early and its riffs and memorable guitar licks show up in the recordings of many of them later in their careers. ^{citation needed]}. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is the best-known example of this phenomenon.

For example, legions of guitarists rubbed their fingers raw trying to duplicate the startlingly original note-bending sounds of the intro to "Johnny B. Goode," which expanded on the techniques of blues musicians who were still warming to electric guitars. Yet the Beach Boys' signature song, "Fun Fun Fun ('Til Her Daddy Takes The T-Bird Away)", recorded in 1964, begins with that intro, copied so effortlessly and flawlessly by a studio musician that it generates not a bit of tension. In a mere six years, Berry's style had become a standard in every rock and roll guitarist's repertoire. This song, arguably, had much to do with the establishment of the guitar as the lead instrument in rock and roll, rather than the piano or the tenor saxophone, both of which had been in the running since the emergence of the genre ^{original research?]}.

The song is played by many groups from several different countries; for example, by Hungária from Hungary.

Berry later wrote a sequel song called "Bye Bye Johnny". His instrumental "Concerto in B. Goode" is an extended instrumental exploration of "the Chuck Berry style" by its master and inventor.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Johnny B. Goode" at number 42 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone ranked it as the seventh greatest song ever on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Cultural uses

• In the movie Back to the Future, Marty McFly performs this song at a high school dance where the original band's guitarist (named Marvin Berry) injures his hand. Chuck Berry becomes inspired to write the song by Marvin, his cousin, who calls Chuck to hear the "new sound [he's] been looking for". The scene was also used in Back to the Future Part II.
• The Beach Boys copied the intro of the song for "Fun, Fun, Fun". They recorded the song live on December 21, 1963, in a version which would later be released on the album Beach Boys Concert.
• The song is one of two Berry recordings included on the American Graffiti soundtrack.
• "Johnny B. Goode" makes a cameo appearance in the Ricky Nelson song, "Garden Party", as a reference to Berry, who also played the concert commemorated in the Nelson song.
• "Johnny B. Goode" also makes a cameo in the Big Bopper song, "Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor".
• In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry used the song as a theme song at most of his campaign events
• Australian band TISM once recorded a parody of this song entitled "The Ballad of Johnny To B. Or Not To B. Goode". Their independent record label is named "Genre B. Goode".
• "Johnny B. Goode" can be heard in the makeshift hospital Ruth's daughter Jane visits in the British nuclear war film Threads.
• In the SNES game Earthbound (or Mother 2 in Japan), the music which plays when fighting the enemy identified as "New Age Retro Hippy" is based on "Johnny B. Goode".
• In Theme Park (game), the music of the simulator ride is the guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode".
• The Kingdom Hospital television miniseries had a running gag where the hospital's janitor, Johnny B. Goode, was always absent from work and his duties performed by someone else. Eventually Goode does appear late in the series, and is played by novelist and series creator Stephen King.
• In the videogames Animal Crossing and its sequel Animal Crossing: Wild World, the song "Rockin' K.K." is heavily based on "Johnny B. Goode". This could also be a reference to Judas Priest's cover, and their guitarist K.K. Downing.
• "Johnny B. Goode" is featured on the Voyager Golden Record as one of three examples of USA music.
• On his 2006 Modern Times album Bob Dylan seems to use the speed and metric of "Johnny B. Goode" for his song "Thunder on the Mountain". In so far as this CD is about "modern times", it seems reasonable that he picks up this classic: the "spirit" (its rhythmic essence) of the song is transformed into the present, adding much vigor and lyrical variations to it.
• American NASCAR driver Johnny Benson is frequently referred to by television commentators as "Johnny B. Goode" when he's running well.
• Ironically, pianist Johnny Johnson was not on this recording; instead, Lafayette Leake did the keyboard honors.
• "Johnny B. Goode" has also been used in several hit musicals. The song is the finale in "Return to the Forbidden Planet" and also is the final song in the finale act of The Buddy Holly Story.
• In an Australian advertisement for The OC, "Johnny B Goode" is written "Johnny be good" as a caption while a character, Johnny, is robbing a convienience store.

Cover versions

This song has been covered by many artists including:

• 5-Driver
• AC/DC
• Aerosmith
• Bad Religion (live)
• Buddy Holly
• Carpenters (live)
• The Beatles
• Marc Broussard
• Mark Campbell - sung as "Marty McFly" during Back to the Future (Note: Michael J. Fox did not sing the version heard in the movies.)
• Earthlings?
• John Farnham
• Men at Work
• Green Day
• The Grateful Dead
• Bill Haley & His Comets
• Jimi Hendrix (no studio recording, only live)
• Elton John
• Judas Priest from Ram It Down
• Jerry Lee Lewis
• Julian Lennon
• Phillip Magee
• NOFX
• NRBQ
• Buck Owens
• Phish
• Elvis Presley
• Ratdog
• Sex Pistols
• Slade
• Slaughter & The Dogs
• Status Quo
• Stray Cats
• George Thorogood
• The Tornadoes
• Peter Tosh
• The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
• Uncle Tupelo
• Wardy And The Rockets
• Johnny Winter, whose Johnny "can play a guitar like a bat out of Hell".
• Ben Waters
• Carlos Santana
• Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush
• Kojanij Olen
• Huey Lewis and The News
• Will Hoge (no studio recording, only live)

Trivia Facts

- "Johnny" also appears as a character in the sequel songs "Bye Bye Johnny" and "Go Go Go".

-"Johnny B. Goode" is mentioned in Joe South's song "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor."