Rock n Roll Mysteries Explained - Part 2 - JOHNNY B. GOODE

So, what was the inspiration behind one of Dueling Pianos greatest songs, and one of rock n roll's first big riff-based hits? Who was JOHNNY B. GOODE?

While the Chuck Berry song seems greatly auto-biographical about the larger-than-life artist himself, the song is actually and originally based on his piano player - Johnny Johnson. Not only is Johnny one of rock n roll's founding piano players, but he was also responsible for many of the bluesy fills and riffs that have become part of its vocabulary for sixty years.

Ironically, though Johnson's piano grooves can be heard on most of Berry's hits, he wasn't actually the player on JOHNNY B. GOODE (that was Lafayette Leake).

In an additional historical irony, it was Johnson who gave Berry his big break on New Year's Eve 1952, though Berry got himself a solo record deal not long after.

In 2000, Johnson sued Berry for back royalties on many of the songs he helped make famous, but the case was dismissed as too much time had passed since the composing of the songs.

In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

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