The real life - "Johnny B. Goode"
Johnnie Johnson, a rock'n'roll pioneer who teamed up with Chuck Berry for hits such as Roll Over Beethoven and No Particular Place to Go, died on 18th April 2005.
Though never a household name, Johnson was considered a legend in blues and boogie-woogie, and his collaboration with Berry helped define early rock'n'roll. Johnson often composed the music on piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics. In fact, Berry's Johnny B Goode was a tribute to Johnson.
"It was so much fun to play with Johnnie," Bo Diddley said. "The world has lost a great man and a great musician."
Johnson had performed and recorded with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker and Diddley, among others. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
Johnson was born in West Virginia, and, by the age of four, had taught himself to play the piano. He moved to Chicago after the Second World War, then to St Louis in the 1950s, forming his own R&B trio. When a band member became ill, Johnson hired Berry to fill in. "Chuck did a hillbilly country number with a bluesy vein, and it knocked people out," said Joe Edwards, owner of the Blueberry Hill nightclub where both men often played.
Edwards called Johnson the "classic sideman", a gifted musician but one lacking the flair of Berry. Johnson's performance in the documentary Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll spurred new interest in his music, and he spent his later years as a frontman for his own band.
In 2000, Johnson sued Berry, seeking credit for what Johnson said were 50 songs the men composed together. A judge dismissed the suit, ruling that too many years had passed. The men later reconciled, performing together at Blueberry Hill as recently as a year ago.
Johnson stepped into the spotlight later in life, releasing his first solo album in 1989. His star continued to rise, especially among his fellow musicians, who lined up to work with the icon. In the last decade, Johnson performed and recorded with an amazingly diverse array of artists, including Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, Keith Richards, The Kentucky Headhunters, Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, Susan Tedeschi, NRBQ, Buddy Guy and Styx.
