Rock and Roll

Chuck Berry , who was born on October 18, 1926, in St. Louis, Missiouri, was a  rock and roll legend and music pioneer.  He passed away today,  March 18, 2017, in St. Charles Missouri.

The song “Johnny B. Goode” was written and recorded by Chuck Berry. Released in 1958, it went to #2 on the R&B Chart and #8 on the U.S. Pop Chart. The musicians on the single besides Berry on vocals and guitar, include Layfayette Leake on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. The story tells of a young man from the back woods Louisiana who was so talented, “he could play the guitar like ringing a bell” and could become famous some day. While Berry was from Missouri and not Louisiana, the song is partially autobiographical. The “Johnny,” perhaps, refers to the pianist Johnnie Johnson, who worked with Berry on many songs, including  “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Sweet Little 16.” And the “Goode” refers to the street where Berry grew up in St. Louis, which was on Goode Avenue.

The song “Johnny B. Goode” is considered to be a national treasure. NASA sent a copy of the song on the Voyager space probe as part of a package representing  some of the best things  in American culture.

This is the “Johnny B. Goode” that was sent:

Here are the lyrics to “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry:

“Deep down Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like a ringing a bell

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made
People passing by they would stop and say
Oh my that little country boy could play

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode

His mother told him “Someday you will be a man
And you will be the leader of a big old band
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode”

The song was featured in the 1985 movie Back to the Future. It has been covered by many artists, including Peter Tosh, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles.

For other songs by Chuck Berry: “Maybellene,” “Run Rudolph Run,” and “You Never Can Tell.”

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday NIght, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

Please click here for the Daily Doo Wop YouTube channel, to which you can subscribe. Thank you for stopping by The Daily Doo Wop. Hope you enjoyed “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry.