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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | jchasin@nyc.rr.com |
| Subject | Re: Another passing...FYI |
| Date | Thu, 14 Apr 2005 15:38:24 -0400 |
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A true unsung hero of rock'n'roll and American music. I saw him once-- a great show, he sat in with the Kentucky Headhunters (they did an album together) opening for the CoOntinental Drifters outdoors at Central Park. Outstanding.
I feel very old lately. I have a bad feeling you don't outgrow it.
----- Original Message -----
From: mkropp@comcast.net
Date: Thursday, April 14, 2005 3:15 pm
Subject: Re: Another passing...FYI
> 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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