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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | mkropp@comcast.net |
| Subject | Re: Another passing...FYI |
| Date | Thu, 14 Apr 2005 19:15:31 +0000 |
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That really is sad news. I enjoyed his piano playing a lot and always thought it would be cool to see him play in one of those small St. Louis clubs. I also love his "Johnnie B. Bad" album with so many guest-stars (NRBQ, Keith Richards, etc).
-------------- Original message --------------
> 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
> www.topshelfoldies.com
> www.superoldies.com
> for the best in obscure '50s and '60s music
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