About the Song
“Johnny B. Goode” is a single from 1958, composed and sung by Chuck Berry. It is one of Berry’s most well-known songs and holds the seventh position on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song was written by Berry in 1955 and tells the story of a poor country boy who plays the guitar and hopes to become famous with it. According to Berry, the song is partly autobiographical. Originally, the lyrics were intended to refer to a “colored boy,” but Berry later thought that “country boy” would be more suitable.
The title suggests that the guitar player in the song is named Johnny and behaves well. However, “Goode” could also refer to Goode Avenue in St. Louis, where Berry was born. The name “Johnny” comes from Berry’s piano player Johnnie Johnson, but in the song, it was more about Berry himself. Interestingly, for the recording of “Johnny B. Goode,” it was not Johnnie Johnson but Lafayette Leake who played the piano.
Berry’s version of the song is included on the Voyager Golden Record, which is attached to the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977.
The song is prominently featured in the 1985 film “Back to the Future.” In the movie, Michael J. Fox’s character Marty McFly plays a cover of the song after time-traveling, inadvertently inspiring Chuck Berry (whose cousin Marvin is present during the performance) to create the song.
When Chuck Berry was first inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in September 1986, he played “Johnny B. Goode” and “Rock and Roll Music” live, assisted by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
In March 2005, “Johnny B. Goode” was ranked 42nd in Q magazine’s list of the best 100 guitar tracks.