Deep Friday Blues: Chuck Berry Does It All On “Johnny B. Goode”

Chuck Berry isn’t usually considered a blues artist, but his genius actually lies in the means by which he modified elements of the genre into a style immediately recognizable as his. Take this 1958 performance of “Johnny B. Goode:” the storytelling elements in the composition are as readily discernible as the high-spirited but precise guitar playing in the performance, both of which elements serve to bring the narrative to life. In addition to the infectious nature of such material, Chuck developed the flashy, good-natured stage presence depicted here that further imprinted a favorable impression on live audiences. Likewise, Berry’s prolific output as a composer led to a string of commercially-popular single releases, the majority of them issued on the landmark blues label Chess Records from the mid-to-late Fifties: little wonder his tunes were covered by artists ranging from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead!