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| Johnnie
Johnson: Father of Rock 'N Roll |
Page
2: Johnnie's Official Biography, by Travis Fitzpatrick
Father of Rock & Roll. The Story of Johnnie "B.
Goode "Johnson |
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Johnnie's Biography ·
The Johnnie Johnson / Travis
Fitzpatrick Interview
Amazon Book Review · Fox
Valley Blues Society Book Review |
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THE
ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME PRESENTS
Father Of Rock & Roll: The
Johnnie Johnson / Travis Fitzpatrick
Interview by Ken Burke, Posted Sept.
30, 1999. |
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| http://www.rockabillyhall.com/DrIJJohnson.html |
Johnnie
Johnson is one of the great unsung
architects of rock 'n roll music.
His flawless melding of fluid jazz
with barrelhouse boogie-woogie and
blues set a compelling countergroove
to Chuck Berry's hopped-up country
shuffles. The resultant string of
hits not only sound fresh and jivey
today, they also comprise the one
body of work we can all point to with
authority and say "THIS is rock'n'roll
music."
History has cast the affable pianist
as a mere sideman, but Johnson's role
with Chuck Berry was actually more
similar to Dave Bartholomew's with
Fats Domino or Scotty Moore's with
Elvis Presley. Johnson helped shape
and refine Berry's sound, supplying
music and head arrangements for the
duckwalking guitarist's classic tongue-in-cheek
teen anthems. Though he never received
proper credit or royalty checks for
his contributions, Johnson's impact
on the first generation of rockers
was every bit as profound as Berry's
because he was truly the man behind
the man.
When Berry was sent to jail at the
peak of his early success, Johnson
went to work for another guitar legend,
Albert King, serving in the same uncredited
role for the bad-ass bluesman as he
had for the rocker. By working with
two such important figures in American
music, you'd figure the pianist would
be far better known than he is, but
a great many factors have keep him
in the shadows.
Perhaps the reason we know so little
about Johnson's contributions is due
to the fact that he has never engaged
in the unseemly boasting of many of
his contemporaries. Though his playing
provides plenty of excitement and
release for his listeners, the man
himself is stoic and carries himself
with great dignity. There's also the
matter of location. Refusing to leave
the St. Louis area (not exactly the
hub of the entertainment industry),
Johnson juggled full time jobs, weekend
gigs, occasional tours, and studio
dates all while nearly drinking himself
to death during a 40 year battle with
alcoholism.
Chuck Berry's resurrection in the
1986 film, Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll!,
was the beginning of Johnson's rebirth
as well. Such admirers as Keith Richards,
Eric Clapton, and George Throrogood
clamored for his services, wanting
Johnson to bring the same Chess Records
magic to their recordings as he had
Berry's. |
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Father
of Rock & Roll, The Story of Johnnie
"B Goode" Johnson
By Travis Fitzpatrick
~ Editorial
Review From Amazon.com
"On
December 30, 1953, a piano player
named Johnnie Johnson phoned me,
asking me to join his Sir Johns Trio
for a gig on the eve of the year of
1953.", remembers rock and roll
pioneer Chuck Berry. And the rest
was history. Or was it?
Now for the first
time, author Travis Fitzpatrick opens
the door on the life of the legendary
piano man, Johnnie B. Goode Johnson,
the modest musical savant who created
rock and roll--and never received
credit for it.
They called him the
music man. For over twenty years,
Johnnie Johnson manned the keys as
Chuck Berry's pianist and bandleader,
collaborating with him on more than
one hundred songs and providing Berry
with the distinct sound and boogie
rhythm that made him a star. The inspiration
behind the first rock and roll hero,
Johnny B. Goode, Johnson's music would
influence the entire rock pantheon,
from Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis to
the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Yet through it all,
Johnnie Johnson remained a mystery.
Driven by a partner's greed and his
own personal demons into a life of
impoverished anonymity, the world
seemed destined to never know the
truth about Johnnie Johnson. Until
now.
This is the story
behind the best kept secret in rock
and roll. It is a story of a man who
was lost and found, the partner who
forsook him, the woman who saved him,
and a young friend who dedicated his
life to secure an unsung hero his
rightful place in history. This is
the story of the music that shaped
the world. This is the story of the
Father of Rock & Roll.
About the Author:
Travis Fitzpatrick was born
in Parkersburg, West Virginia not
far from Johnnie Johnson's hometown
of Fairmont. He lived in California,
Michigan, and Tennessee before settling
in Houston, Texas. Fitzpatrick first
met Johnson in 1993 and commenced
writing Father of Rock & Roll:
The Story of Johnnie B. Goode Johnson
in 1995 - at the age of nineteen.
As of the first printing of this book,
he was attending the University of
Texas at Austin. |
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Book
Review: The Father Of Rock 'N
Roll
The
Story of Johnnie "B Goode"
Johnson By Travis Fitzpatrick
Fox Valley
Blues Society, 1999 by Dave Glynn
www.foxvalleyblues.org/articles/bookrev-johnniejohnson.html
Johnnie Johnson's
biography tells a heartening story
of a man who battled a lot in life,
but was guided by the angels along
the way. He would have to have the
help of the angels because there is
no way another individual could have
survived so many brushes with death.
Despite Johnnie's fight for life,
his music and his nonchalant behavior
are a steady theme through his struggles.
Author Travis Fitzpatrick
does a beautiful job of threading
musical history through this tale
of Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry's
original piano player and collaborator
for most of his hits. Meet the Chess
brothers, who are presented as astute
business men and knew how to exploit
the music and its authors. Meet Chuck
Berry, can you stand to ever look
at him again? Meet Albert King who
scares the daylights out of you. Enter
Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and a
host of other musicians in awe of
Johnnie's 'God-given' talent.
*Read
the Full Article |
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Johnnie's Biography ·
The Johnnie Johnson / Travis
Fitzpatrick Interview
Amazon Book Review · Fox
Valley Blues Society Book Review |
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