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| From | "Judy B" <HeyJude@socal.rr.com> |
| Subject | Another passing...FYI |
| Date | Thu, 14 Apr 2005 10:34:25 -0700 |
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Another passing of the man that the song Johnny B. Goode was named after.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Johnson Dies
By JIM SALTER, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 13, 9:53 PM
ST. LOUIS - Johnnie Johnson, a rock 'n' roll pioneer who teamed with Chuck
Berry for hits like "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place to Go,"
died Wednesday. He was 80.
Johnson died at his St. Louis home. The cause of death was not immediately
known, said publicist Margo Lewis. He had been hospitalized a month ago with
pneumonia and was on dialysis for a kidney ailment, said John May, a friend
and fellow musician.
Though he was never a household name, Johnson and Berry's long collaboration
helped define early rock 'n' roll. Johnson often composed the music on
piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics. In fact,
Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was a tribute to Johnson.
After he and Berry parted ways, Johnson performed with Keith Richards, Eric
Clapton, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley, among others. He was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 in the "sidemen" category.
"It was so much fun to play with Johnnie," Diddley said. "The world has lost
a great man and a great musician."
Berry, 78, who returned from a European tour Wednesday, said he would
perform a tribute concert to honor "the man with a dynamite right hand ...
the greatest piano player I ever had" who gave the then-struggling Berry his
first paid gig - a $4 job - half a century ago.
Johnson was born in Fairmont, W.Va., and began playing piano at 4. He moved
to Chicago after World War II, where he played jazz and blues in clubs. He
moved to St. Louis in the early 1950s, forming his own R&B band, the Johnnie
Johnson Trio.
When a band member became ill on New Year's Eve 1952, Johnson hired Berry to
fill in.
"Midway through the show, Chuck did a hillbilly country number with a bluesy
vein, and it knocked people out," said Joe Edwards, owner of the Blueberry
Hill nightclub just outside of St. Louis where both men often played.
Johnson and Berry parted ways in the early 1970s, and in 2000, Johnson sued
Berry, seeking a share of royalties and proper credit for what Johnson said
were more than 50 songs the men composed together. A federal judge dismissed
the suit in 2002, ruling that too many years had passed since the disputed
songs were written.
The lawsuit contended that Berry took advantage of Johnson's alcoholism,
misleading him into believing that only Berry was entitled to own the
copyrights "and reap the monetary benefits."
Johnson is survived by his wife, 10 children and several grandchildren.
Judy
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