Johnny B. Goode

"Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 single by American musician Chuck Berry, who both wrote and performed it. That year, it reached number two on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on the pre-Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track has endured as a cornerstone of rock 'n' roll and is widely regarded as one of the most recognizable songs in popular music history.

Often called the first rock & roll hit about rock & roll stardom, the song has been covered by many artists and has earned numerous honors. Rolling Stone ranked it 33rd in 2021 and 7th in 2004 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was also one of 27 songs included on the Voyager Golden Record, a collection meant to represent humanity to extraterrestrial beings.

Composition and recording

Berry wrote the song in 1955 about an illiterate "country boy" from the New Orleans area who plays guitar "just like ringing a bell" and dreams of having his "name in lights." Berry admitted the song was partly autobiographical, originally calling Johnny a "colored boy" but changing it to "country boy" to get radio play. The title also hints at Berry’s own life, as he was born on Goode Avenue in St. Louis. The initial inspiration came from Johnnie Johnson, Berry’s regular piano player, but the song evolved to focus on Berry himself. For the Chess recording session, Lafayette Leake played piano, with Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums, produced by Leonard and Phil Chess.

Guitarist Keith Richards later noted the song’s chords are more typical of piano compositions than guitar. The opening guitar riff borrows from Carl Hogan’s solo on Louis Jordan’s "Ain’t That Just Like a Woman" (1946). A notable feature is the contrast between the swing of the drums and piano and the straight rhythm of the lead guitar.

In The Guardian, Joe Queenan argued that no rock song more jubilantly celebrates the genre’s downmarket roots. Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz called it "the first rock-star origin story," noting its swagger and showmanship were new to radio.

Legacy

At the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1986, Berry performed "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock and Roll Music" with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Hall of Fame included both songs and "Maybellene" in its list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. The song entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Numerous artists have covered it across genres.