Johnnie Clyde Johnson (July 8, 1924 – April 13, 2005) was an American pianist who played

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

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 ...

. His work with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

led to his induction into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for breaking racial barriers in the military, as he was a Montford Point Marine - where the African-American unit endured racism and inspired social change while integrating the previously all-white Marine Corps during World War II.

Career

Johnson was born in

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...

, United States. He began playing the piano in 1928. He joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and became a member of

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television prog ...

's all-serviceman

orchestra, the Barracudas. After his service, he moved to Detroit and then Chicago, where he sat in with many notable artists, including

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

and

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

. He moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

in 1952 and immediately assembled a jazz and blues group, the Sir John Trio, with the drummer Ebby Hardy and the saxophonist Alvin Bennett. The three had a regular engagement at the Cosmopolitan Club, in East St. Louis. On New Year's Eve 1952, Bennett had a stroke and could not perform. Johnson, searching for a last-minute replacement, called a young man named Chuck Berry, the only musician Johnson knew who, because of his inexperience, would likely not be playing on New Year's Eve. Although then a limited guitarist, Berry added vocals and showmanship to the group. Bennett was not able to play after his stroke, so Johnson hired Berry as a permanent member of the trio. Berry took one of their tunes, a reworking of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

's version of "

Ida Red "Ida Red" is an American traditional song of unknown origins that was made famous in the upbeat 1938 version by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Wills' "Ida Red" served as the primary inspiration for Chuck Berry's first big hit "Maybellene". I ...

", to

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

in 1955. The Chess brothers liked the song, and soon the trio were in Chicago

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

Maybellene "Maybellene" is a rock and roll song. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, adapted in part from the Western swing fiddle tune "Ida Red". Berry's song told the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance, the lyrics describing ...

" and "

Wee Wee Hours "Wee Wee Hours" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1955. Originally released as the B-side of his first single, "Maybellene", it went on to become a hit, reaching number 10 in the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. The song is a twelve-bar b ...

" – a song Johnson had been playing as an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

for years, for which Berry quickly wrote some

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

. "

" got Berry and Johnson onto the Billboard charts in 1955. Berry got signed as a solo act, and Johnson and Hardy became part of Berry's band. Said Johnson, "I figured we could get better jobs with Chuck running the band. He had a car and rubber wheels beat rubber heels any day." Over the next 20 years, the two collaborated on many of Berry's songs, including " School Days", "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace clas ...

", " Carol", and " Nadine". The song " Johnny B. Goode" was reportedly a tribute to Johnson, with the title referring to Johnson's behavior when he was drinking. Berry and Johnson played and toured together on and off, until 1973. Although never on his payroll after 1973, Johnson played occasionally with Berry, until he sued Berry over songwriting credits and royalties. Johnson was known to have a serious drinking problem. In Berry's autobiography, he wrote that he had declared there would be no drinking in the car while the band was on the road. Johnson and his bandmates complied with the request by putting their heads out the window. Johnson denied the story but said he did drink on the road. Johnson quit drinking in 1991, after nearly suffering a stroke on stage with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

. Aside from songwriting and performing with Chuck Berry, Johnson made many significant contributions to blues and rock and roll. Johnson was the leader of

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

's rhythm section during King's most prolific and musically significant period. Johnson also served as one of the cornerstones of the St. Louis blues scene. In the early and mid 1980s he was a member of The Sounds of The City, with vocalist

Larry Thurston Larry "T" Thurston is a soul, R&B, and blues singer, who sang as the lead vocalist for Matt Murphy's band and the Blues Brothers. Career Thurston's musical career began in the early 1980s with St Louis's Soulard Blues Band. His next band was the ...

, bassist Gus Thornton, and guitarist Tom Maloney. Johnson performed all over St Louis with

Tommy Bankhead Tommy Bankhead (October 24, 1931 – December 16, 2000) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer who played with Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Elmore James (his cousin), Joe Willie Wilkins, Robert Nighthawk, and Joe Hill Louis. H ...

Oliver Sain Oliver Sain Jr. (March 1, 1932 – October 28, 2003) was an American saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer, who was an important figure in the development of rhythm and blues music, notably in St Louis, Missouri. ...

, and many significant blues artists throughout their lives. Johnson received little recognition until the Chuck Berry concert documentary, ''

Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll'' is a 1987 documentary film directed by Taylor Hackford that chronicles two 1986 concerts celebrating rock and roll musician Chuck Berry's 60th birthday. A soundtrack album was released in October 1987 on the MCA lab ...

'', was released in 1987. The experience forged a permanent bond between him,

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, and Steve Jordan. Although Johnson had been supporting himself as a bus driver in St. Louis, the exposure and experience of the film helped him return to headlining. He recorded his first solo album, ''Blue Hand Johnnie'', that year. Having worked steadily in St. Louis, Johnson returned to performing all over the world. He performed with the

Kentucky Headhunters The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock and Southern rock band originating in the state of Kentucky. The band's members are Doug Phelps (vocals, bass guitar), Greg Martin (vocals, lead guitar), and brothers Richard Young (vocals, rh ...

on occasion and was featured in both the " Dumas Walker" and "Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine" videos. Eric Clapton hired him as a featured artist for his annual Royal Albert Hall blues shows. Keith Richards employed Johnson in the Xpensive Winos, and Johnson played piano on Richards debut solo album, ''

Talk Is Cheap ''Talk Is Cheap'' is the debut solo album by English musician Keith Richards, the guitarist of the Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released during a long-standing falling out with Mick Jagger, ''Talk Is Cheap'' received positive r ...

'' (1988). Johnson toured worldwide as a solo artist, and released records produced by Keith Richards, Jimmy Vivino, and

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

. He later performed with Richards, Clapton,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

and George Thorogood on Thorogood's 1995 live album '' Live: Let's Work Together''. In 1996 and 1997, Johnson toured with

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

's band,

Ratdog RatDog is an American rock band. The group began in 1995 as a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. After the Dead disbanded later that year, RatDog became Weir's primary band. They performed some Grateful Dead songs, a mix ...

, playing 67 shows. In 1997, Johnson, Raymond Cantrell, and Stevie Lee Dodge made up the St. Charles Blues Trio. In 1998, Johnson told Doug Donnelly of Monroenews.com that "Johnny B. Goode" was a tribute to him. "I played no part in nothing of Johnny B. Goode," Johnson said. "On other songs, Chuck and I worked together, but not that one. We were playing one night, I think it was Chicago, and he played it. Afterward, he told me it was a tribute to me. He did it on his own. I didn't know nothing about it. It was never discussed." A biography of Johnson, ''Father of Rock and Roll: The Story of Johnnie B. Goode Johnson'', by Travis Fitzpatrick, was published in 1999. The book was entered into the annual

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

competition by

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit. ...

and garnered Johnson more recognition. Johnson received a Pioneer Award from the

Rhythm and Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with en ...

in 2000. Johnson's final album, ''Johnnie Be Eighty. And Still Bad!'', was recorded in St. Louis in late 2004, consisting of all original songs written with the producer, Jeff Alexander, a first for Johnson. The album was released the same week he died in April 2005, and contains the biographical "Beach Weather" and "Lucky Four". In 2005, he played piano on Styx's re-recording of "Blue Collar Man", entitled "Blue Collar Man @ 2120", for their album ''

Big Bang Theory The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

''. It was recorded at Chess Studios, on the 46th anniversary of the recording of "Johnnie B. Goode" at the same studio. Johnson died at the age of 80 from a kidney ailment and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in St. Louis on April 13, 2005. He was interred in the

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, just on the banks of the Mississippi River. The cemetery was established after the American Civil War in an attempt to put together a fo ...

Legacy

In November 2000, Johnson sued Berry, alleging he deserved co-composer credits (and

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

) for dozens of songs, including "No Particular Place to Go", "Sweet Little Sixteen", and "Roll Over Beethoven", which credit Berry alone. The case was eventually dismissed, because too many years had passed since the songs in dispute were written. In 2001, he was inducted into the

, in the category Sidemen, after a campaign by the businessman George Turek; Johnson's biographer, Travis Fitzpatrick; and the guitarist Keith Richards, of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. Johnson has a star on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years ther ...

. Johnson was the subject of a Homespun Tapes piano instructional video, ''The Blues/Rock Piano of Johnnie Johnson: Sessions with a Keyboard Legend''. Originally released in 1999 (a DVD was issued in 2005), the video is hosted by

David Bennett Cohen David Bennett Cohen (born August 4, 1942) is an American musician best known as the original keyboardist and one of the guitar players for the late-1960s psychedelic rock and blues band Country Joe and the Fish. Early life and influences ...

, along with Johnson's band, featuring guitarist

Jimmy Vivino Jimmy Vivino (born January 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, keyboard player, singer, producer, and music director. He is best known as having been the leader of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night ...

. The Johnnie Johnson Blues & Jazz Festival is held annually in Fairmont West Virginia, only a few blocks from where Johnson was born.

Discography

* 1959: ''Organ in Hi-Fi'' nstrumental(Riviera Records R0044/STR044) * 1987: ''Blue Hand Johnnie'' (Evidence Music), with

* 1991: '' Johnnie B. Bad'' ( Elektra), with

and

Bernard Fowler Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocali ...

* 1991: ''Rockin' Eighty-Eights'' (Modern Blues Recordings), with

Clayton Love Clayton D. Love Jr. (November 16, 1927 – February 28, 2010) was an American blues pianist, who led his own band, the Shufflers, in the early 1950s. He was later a vocalist in Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm. Biography Love was bor ...

and Jimmy Vaughan (not to be confused with

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...

of the

Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974. Career After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/ Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Rec ...

) * 1993: '' That'll Work'' (Elektra), with the

and Jimmy Hall * 1995: ''Johnnie Be Back'' (MusicMasters), with

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' a ...

* 1997: ''Johnnie B. Live'' (Father of Rock and Roll Music), with Jimmy Vivino and Al Kooper * 1999: ''Father of Rock and Roll'' (Father of Rock and Roll Music), CD accompanying the book ''Father of Rock and Roll: The Story of Johnnie B. Goode Johnson'', featuring new recordings of Johnson and Berry songs * 2005: ''Johnnie Be Eighty...And Still Bad!'' (Cousin Moe Music), produced by Jeff Alexander, with Rich McDonough (guitar), Gus Thornton (bass), Joe Pastor (drums), Larry Thurston (vocals) and Victor "Big Daddy" Johnson (vocals) * 2015: ''Meet Me in Bluesland'' (

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

), with the Kentucky Headhunters

Singles

* 1994: "Sunday Blues" (with

The Kentucky Headhunters The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock and Southern rock band originating in the state of Kentucky. The band's members are Doug Phelps (vocals, bass guitar), Greg Martin (vocals, lead guitar), and brothers Richard Young (vocals, rhy ...

)

References

External links

Johnnie Johnson

.
Johnnie Johnson Blues & Jazz Society