When I was still carryin’ my guitar in a gunny sack, I started playin’ Johnny B. Goode, and jamming on it with some local kids. I thought it was the greatest thing. One of the kids even told me, “you can really play that song.” I was like, “everybody plays it.” But he insisted, “no, you have a way with it.” I think I just loved it.
What probably helped was that I got to see some top stars playing their versions. One of my biggest heroes of the time and any time, Johnny Winter, did a super-charged version on his album, And Live and I saw him play it live, too. But the version that really caught my ear was Grateful Dead. It was included in a seminal rock and roll movie, Fillmore, about the closing of the Fillmore West. I saw it at a midnight movie. Somehow, with Bob Weir singing and Jerry playing the lead, it seemed easier. The Dead’s version really rocks and has great harmonies on the chorus. I am a Bob fan!
I knew the original Chuck Berry version too, but didn’t really follow his licks, which are a little different from the way most people play it, even Chuck Berry. My other favorite version is by Jimi Hendrix. He does a kind of psychedelic metal version at breakneck speed. The point is, you’re supposed to do it in your own way. But I think the Chuck Berry version is a good place to start, so that's the tab that I've included here. It’s one of the most difficult ways of playing it and therefore, if you can do it, you’re in a good position to do your own thing. Please note that Chuck Berry plays the song in Bb while most everybody else plays it in A. Below are some technical points to help you along.
Double Stops – Playing two notes at once on adjacent strings is a hallmark of Chuck Berry and Johnny B. Goode makes heavy use of the technique. Play the main double stops in measure one (first complete measure) with your first finger, as if you were playing an F chord. In measure three, I use my third and fourth fingers, as if I were playing an A bar chord at the fifth fret. Many people would just use the third finger in a little bar. The complicated little run before the long repeated bends is a combination of first, second and third fingers. If it’s too hard, just play single notes, keeping the ones that move. The quick one at the seventh fret, measure eleven should be played with the third finger.
String Bending – Use your third finger for the whole step bends. Try not to let any “release” after the bend ie, the fully bent pitch is where it ends. Use the second finger to support the third – look at the video.
Palm Muting –Time precludes us going into a discussion of Palm Muting but there is definitely some palm muting in measure three. You can get away without it. Essentially, you touch the lower strings with your picking hand palm right at the bridge while playing to mute the strings a little, not completely.
Fingering – check out the blue numbers above the tab. Note the use of the second finger for the third string slides. It sets up what comes after. I suggest also using the pinky for the eighth fret notes on the B String – the frets are pretty far apart in the fifth position and a three fingered approach is a little strained here. Also note that the longer runs are influenced by T-Bone Walker, who was the coolest guitar player around before B.B. King and Chuck Berry came on the scene.
Staccato – in measure nine on the tab, you will see the articulation marked, “staccato.” This means the note is short or disconnected from the next note. Most of the big bends have this feeling also, ie no release. Staccato is an important phrasing tool and you must learn to use it but at the speed that “Johnny” goes, beginners will be forgiven for overlooking it here…
Rake – play the chord with the notes slightly separated aka not all at once. Use a downstroke. Check the video.
My Chuck Berry Story/Not punched by Chuck Berry! – I met Chuck Berry once when he played at the Ritz in Manhattan. Before the show, some people said, “Chuck Berry is up there!” One of my friends even said, “He punched me!” I went up and Chuck Berry was standing against the wall in an upper balcony with two huge bodyguards. I went up to him and nervously (Ha! The definition of it!) I extended my hand and said, “I really love your music, Mr. Berry!” There were a bunch of early Rolling Stones videos playing and he just kind of sneered and cool as can be he said, “Listen to the music.” I stammered a few more words and he said it again, more of a soft hiss this time, “Listen to the music!” I got out of there quick.
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