''Go, Johnny, Go!'' is a 1959

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

film starring Alan Freed as a talent scout searching for a future rock and roll star. Co-starring in the film are

Jimmy Clanton Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) is an American singer who became known as the " swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number fou ...

, Sandy Stewart, and Chuck Berry. The film has also been released as ''Johnny Melody'', ''The Swinging Story'' and ''The Swinging Story of Johnny Melody''.

Plot summary

Chuck Berry performs "

Johnny B. Goode "Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. Released as a single, it peaked at number two on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre-Hot 100 chart. "Johnny B. Goode" is con ...

" over the opening titles. We meet a young singer (

) who goes by the stage name of Johnny Melody. After a few opening performances, Berry and Alan Freed (playing themselves) discuss their discovery of Johnny, whose fate once hinged on the toss of a coin, with Freed intimating that Johnny nearly ended-up in jail. Berry demands to know the rest of the story. Alan relates that Johnny was once a choir boy from an orphanage. After a practice, the choir director expresses his contempt for rock and roll and leaves. A moment later, he returns to find the kids performing "Ship On A Stormy Sea" with Johnny, who has no last name, in the lead. He stops the song and says that he'll call the other kids' parents, but since Johnny has no parents, he is dismissed and will be sent back to the orphanage. Instead, he gets a job as an usher in a theater, but is fired on his first day for dancing in the aisle to Jo Ann Campbell's "Mama Can I Go Out". During the performance, Alan freed announces a talent search for a singer to be renamed "Johnny Melody". At the theater door, Johnny meets his old friend from the orphanage, Julie Arnold ( Sandy Stewart). She wants him to call her to re-connect, but he tells her he has no money for dates and is saving to record a demo record. Freed then tells Johnny that the talent search was only a publicity stunt by his agent. At a recording studio, Julie records a demo of "Playmates". On her way out, she meets Johnny again, and sings back-up on his recording of "My Love Is Strong". The record is one of many sent to Freed, but Berry, hearing something special in it, urges that it be given strong consideration. But Johnny has failed to include contact information, and his subsequent call to Freed's office fails to get through. Johnny and Julie begin to fall in love, and he wants to get her a special pin for Christmas. After pawning his trumpet, he still doesn't have enough, and he determines to break the jewelry store window with a brick. In the meantime, Freed has begun playing Johnny's record on his radio show to overwhelming response, and has started a public search for Johnny. After hearing the show, Julie rouses Freed and they trail Johnny to the area of the jewelry store, at one point flipping a coin to decide in which direction to look. They find Johnny just as he throws the brick. Freed sends Johnny away with Julie and diverts the police by pretending to be a drunk who tossed the brick. This brings us back to present, and Johnny and Julie are married.

Cast

* Alan Freed as himself *

as Johnny Melody * Sandy Stewart as Julie Arnold * Chuck Berry as himself * Herb Vigran as Bill Barnett * Frank Wilcox as Mr. Arnold * Barbara Wooddell as Mrs. Arnold * Ritchie Valens as himself *

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

as himself *

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

as himself * Milton Frome as Mr. Martin *

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...

as himself (Italian version) * Piero Vivarelli as TV director (Italian version) * Joe Cranston as Band leader * Martha Wentworth as Mrs. McGillacudy, Johnny's landlady * Robert Foulk as Policeman at jewelry store *

Phil Arnold Phil Arnold (born Philip Aronoff Arnold; September 15, 1909 – May 9, 1968) was an American screen, stage, television, and vaudeville actor. He appeared in approximately 150 films and television shows between 1939 and 1968. Arnold is familiar ...

as Stagehand * William Fawcett as Janitor at radio station *

Dick Elliott Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott p ...

as Man waiting for the telephone * Inga Boling as Secretary * Joe Flynn as Usher who fires Johnny Jazz legend

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

appears uncredited as the piano player backing Chuck Berry when he sings "Little Queenie". ;Cast notes * Jimmy Clanton' was involved in the music scene of New Orleans. The first single he released, "Just a Dream", was recorded with the assistance of studio musicians such as Mac Rebennack ("Dr. John, the Night Tripper") and

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

. Rebennack would have a top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' charts with "Right Place, Wrong Time" in 1973. The recording session for "Just a Dream" was among the early sessions that Toussaint participated\. * ''Go, Johnny Go!'' was the only film appearance of Ritchie Valens, who died shortly after filming it in a plane crash, along with

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

and

The Big Bopper Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of wh ...

. The film was released after Valens' death. * ''Go, Johnny Go!'' was Eddie Cochran's third and final appearance in a major picture. A second song, "I Remember", was filmed but cut from the final print.

Songs

# "Go, Johnny Go!" (

) – Chuck Berry # "I'll Take A Long Time" –

# "Jump Children" –

The Flamingos The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and m ...

# "Angel Face" – Jimmy Clanton # "Don't Be Afraid To Love" –

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

# "Mama Can I Go Out" – Jo Ann Campbell # "

Teenage Heaven "Teenage Heaven" is a 1959 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart. It was the A-side of Liberty F-55177 and was featured in the movie Go, Johnny Go! The single rose to number 99 on the Billboard charts. The B-side " I Remember" was also record ...

" –

# "Playmates" – Sandy Stewart # "My Love Is Strong" – Jimmy Clanton # "

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

" – Chuck Berry # "Jay Walker" –

The Cadillacs The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to ...

# "You Better Know It" –

# "Please Mr. Johnson" – The Cadillacs # "Heavenly Father" – Sandy Stewart # "

Little Queenie "Little Queenie" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. Released in March 1959 as a double A-side single with " Almost Grown", it was included on ''Chuck Berry Is on Top'' (1959), Berry's first compilation album. He performed the song in t ...

" – Chuck Berry # "Ooh My Head" – Ritchie Valens # "Ship On A Stormy Sea" – Jimmy Clanton

Production

''Go, Johnny Go!'' was filmed in 1-week over five days starting Monday morning January 5, 1959, at the

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

studios of Hal Roach Productions.

References

;Notes

External links

* * * * {{AFI film, id=52899, title=Go, Johnny, Go! 1959 films Italian musical comedy films 1959 musical comedy films American black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Piero Vivarelli Rockabilly songs 1950s Italian-language films Publicity stunts in fiction American musical comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s Italian films