Johnnie Johnson

Legendary pianist Johnnie Johnson spent 28 years as a sideman alongside Chuck Berry, one of rock & roll’s leading figures. Berry sat in with Johnson’s Sir John Trio on New Year’s Eve 1953 and soon assumed the roles of primary songwriter, frontman, and guitarist for the group. A recommendation from Muddy Waters secured Berry an audition that led to a contract with Chess Records. Johnson’s rhythmic piano work anchored every one of Berry’s hit singles, several of which he arranged, and many observers credit him—despite Berry’s reluctance to confirm it—as the inspiration for the 1958 classic “Johnny B. Goode.” Their partnership endured far longer than most rock & roll collaborations of later decades.

Born July 8, 1924, in Fairmont, WV, Johnson began playing piano at age five after his mother bought an instrument and nurtured his interest. His parents owned 78-rpm discs by Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters; during his teenage years he absorbed big-band broadcasts and absorbed the styles of Art Tatum, Earl “Fatha” Hines, and Meade “Lux” Lewis, all while forging his own distinctive approach. A career resurgence arrived with the 1987 Chuck Berry concert film Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll and with Johnson’s contributions to Keith Richards’ solo album and the X-Pensive Winos. Additional sessions and performances followed with Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, George Thorogood, and Aerosmith.

Although he disliked flying, Johnson toured internationally. He entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Health issues notwithstanding, he kept performing until November 2004, when work began on what became his final album. On April 13, 2005, at age 80, Johnnie Johnson died only hours before copies of Johnnie Be Eighty. And Still Bad! reached his home. In a 1995 interview he echoed his mother’s view that his talent was a divine gift: “I can hear something and keep it in my mind until such point as I can get to a piano, and then I’ll play it…that is a gift, the ability to do that.”

Johnson’s solo releases comprise Blue Hand Johnnie, issued in 1988 on the St. Louis-based Pulsar label; 1991’s Johnnie B. Bad on Elektra’s American Explorer imprint; 1993’s That’ll Work for the same label; 1995’s Johnnie Be Back on New Jersey’s MusicMasters; and the 2005 Cousin Moe Music set Johnnie Be Eighty. And Still Bad!, which includes the biographical tracks “Beach Weather” and “Lucky Four,” the latter a tribute to his fourth wife, Frances.