There are some songs that are indelible from people’s memories. You hear the first few notes and you know exactly what it is. It may have been 10 years since you last heard it, but it’ll feel like yesterday to you. It also doesn’t matter how old you were when you first heard it. This video has one of those songs: “Johnny B. Goode.” It’s 1958 and the song was here, whether the world was ready or not.
Chuck Berry is at the top of his game here, all loose and jumping around. There was nobody that came close to his elastic body control. Michael Jackson was probably his equal as both a dancer and an entertainer. But Berry was mesmerizing to watch strut around the stage. He’s in his element here. It’s too bad the audience seems so stuffy. I’d be standing in my seat dancing. Then again, this was during the 1950’s.
Another reason why this song sounds so familiar: Michael J Fox played it as the last song of his set in “Back to the Future”. He did a great job, though he did get a little too exuberant at the end and did some guitar solo work from the 1980’s. He then looked at the dumbstruck 1950’s kids and told them that their kids would love that… stuff. I’m sure that Berry got a kick out of it at the time.
This is one song that’s guaranteed to go on nearly forever. When the scientists and engineers were preparing a literal Golden Record to put on the Voyager I space probe, which will keep going through space until it hits some sort of civilization, they put “Johnny B. Goode” as one of the songs that’s representative of Earth. Right now, Voyager is out of the solar system and in interstellar space. Chuck and Johnny B. Goode are along for the ride.
The news of Berry’s death hit a lot of people hard. His legacy continues with videos like this. What’s your favorite version of it? List it in the comments section. Also, please “Like” us on Facebook.
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