Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
New stereo mix, sourced from the master take and the underdubbed take (which was missing Berry's overdubbed lead guitar).
"Johnny B. Goode" is a song by American musician Chuck Berry, written and sung by Berry in 1958. Released as a single in 1958, it peaked at number two on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song remains a staple of rock n' roll music.
Written by Chuck Berry in 1955, the song is about an illiterate "country boy" from the New Orleans area, who plays a guitar "just like ringing a bell", and who might one day have his "name in lights". Berry acknowledged that the song is partly autobiographical and that the original lyrics referred to Johnny as a "colored boy", but he changed it to "country boy" to ensure eligibility for radio play. As well as suggesting that the guitar player is good, the title hints at autobiographic elements, because Berry was born at 2520 Goode Avenue, in St. Louis.
The song was initially inspired by Johnnie Johnson, the regular piano player in Berry's band, but developed into a song mainly about Berry himself. Johnson played on many recordings by Berry, but for the Chess recording session Lafayette Leake played the piano, along with Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums. The session was produced by Leonard and Phil Chess. The guitarist Keith Richards later suggested that the song's chords are more typical of compositions written for piano than for guitar.
The opening guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode" borrows from the opening single-note solo on Louis Jordan's "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" (1946), played by guitarist Carl Hogan.
One notable feature of Berry's recording is the contrast between the swing of the drums and piano backing, and the "straight" (non-swinging) rhythm and lead guitar.
New stereo mix, sourced from the master take and the underdubbed take (which was missing Berry's overdubbed lead guitar).
"Johnny B. Goode" is a song by American musician Chuck Berry, written and sung by Berry in 1958. Released as a single in 1958, it peaked at number two on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song remains a staple of rock n' roll music.
Written by Chuck Berry in 1955, the song is about an illiterate "country boy" from the New Orleans area, who plays a guitar "just like ringing a bell", and who might one day have his "name in lights". Berry acknowledged that the song is partly autobiographical and that the original lyrics referred to Johnny as a "colored boy", but he changed it to "country boy" to ensure eligibility for radio play. As well as suggesting that the guitar player is good, the title hints at autobiographic elements, because Berry was born at 2520 Goode Avenue, in St. Louis.
The song was initially inspired by Johnnie Johnson, the regular piano player in Berry's band, but developed into a song mainly about Berry himself. Johnson played on many recordings by Berry, but for the Chess recording session Lafayette Leake played the piano, along with Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums. The session was produced by Leonard and Phil Chess. The guitarist Keith Richards later suggested that the song's chords are more typical of compositions written for piano than for guitar.
The opening guitar riff of "Johnny B. Goode" borrows from the opening single-note solo on Louis Jordan's "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" (1946), played by guitarist Carl Hogan.
One notable feature of Berry's recording is the contrast between the swing of the drums and piano backing, and the "straight" (non-swinging) rhythm and lead guitar.
