1958 – Chuck Berry releases the single “Johnny B Goode” on This Day in Rock History!
on March 31st, 1958 at 12:39 am1958 – Chuck Berry releases the single “Johnny B. Goode.” It becomes his fifth top 10 single, peaking at No. 8.
Single by Chuck Berry
from the album Chuck Berry Is on Top
B-side “Around & Around”
Released March 31, 1958
Format 7″ 45 RPM, 10″ 78 RPM
Recorded January 6, 1958 at Chess Studios, Chicago, Illinois
Genre Rock and roll
Length 2:30
Record Label: Chess Records
Writer(s) Chuck Berry
Producer Little “Bongo” Kraus
Lyrics:
Way down Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy name of Johnny B. Goode
He never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like ringing a bell
Go go,
go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, Johnny B. Goode
He use to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
And sit beneath the trees by the railroad track
Oh, the engineers used to see him sitting in the shade
Stroming to the rhythm that the drivers made
People passing by would stop and say Oh my, that little country boy could play
Go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, Johnny B. Goode
His mother told him someday he would be a man
And he would be the leader of a big old band
Many people coming from miles around
To hear him play his music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name would be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight
Go go, go go Johnny go
Go go Johnny go, go go Johnny go
Go go Johnny go, Johnny B. Goode
Accolades
| List | Publisher | Rank | Year of Publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 Greatest Songs of All Time | Rolling Stone | 7 | 2010 |
| 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks | Q | 42 | 2005 |
| 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time | Rolling Stone | 1 | 2008 |
| Top 3000 Songs | Acclaimed Music | 6 | N/A |
| 500 Songs That Shaped Rock | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame | N/A | 1995 |
| 50 Greatest Guitar Solos | Guitar World | 12 | 2009 |
