Song by Song: "Johnny B. Goode" Quiz

Answer: False

Rather, "My Ding-a-Ling," a 1972 cover of the song by Dave Bartholomew, was Chuck Berry's only U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single.

"Johnny B. Goode" was recorded in January of 1958 and released as a single on March 31, 1958. The song was included on Chuck Berry's third studio album, "Chuck Berry on Top," which came out a year later in July of 1959. The single peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the Hot R&B Singles Chart. On the U.S. Cash Box Top 100, it climbed to the number 11 position. Chuck Berry sang lead vocals and played guitar and Willie Dixon played double bass.

Answer: Chess

The "Johnny B. Goode" single was produced by Leonard and Phil Chess with "Around and Around" on the B-side. Chess Records was known as home to the sound of the electric blues. It began as a small recording studio but grew to seven different locations throughout Chicago. Founded in 1950, Chess Records was the source of many records not only by Chuck Berry, but by blues and jazz greats such as Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Howlin' Wolf.

Answer: Rock and roll stardom

Rolling Stone magazine says the song "was the first rock & roll hit about rock & roll stardom. It is still the greatest rock & roll song about the democracy of fame in pop music." The magazine also reports that "the essence of Berry's tale," which is about a backwoods, unknown guitar player going to the big city and hitting it big, "is autobiographical." The magazine rated the song number seven on its 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Rock and Roll Songs of All Time" and number one on its 2008 list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time."

Answer: Louisiana

Johnny B. Goode is from "deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans" where he lived in a cabin "way back up in the woods among the evergreens." Despite the semi-autobiographical nature of this song, Chuck Berry came from St. Louis, Missouri rather than from Louisiana.

In 2005, the U.K. popular music magazine Q rated this song 42 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks."

Answer: colored boy

Chuck Berry told Rolling Stone magazine in a 1972 interview that Johnny B. Goode, on some level, represents Chuck Berry himself: "That little colored boy could play." However, throughout the song, Chuck Berry changed "colored boy" to "country boy," he told Rolling Stone, "or else it wouldn't get on the radio."

Answer: a-ringin' a bell

Chuck Berry graduated from beauty school. He earned his degree in hairdressing and cosmetology. "Johnny B. Goode" was included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 1995 list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock." Guitar World magazine also included it on its 2009 list of the "50 Greatest Guitar Solos."

Answer: in a gunny sack

"He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track."

Chuck Berry performed this song on January 23, 1986 when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His performance was backed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Jamaican reggae musician Peter Tosh recorded a cover of "Johnny B. Goode" that peaked at number 84 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: shade

The song continues:

"The people passing by they would stop and say
'Oh my what that little country boy could play.'"

Johnny's mother encouraged him, suggesting he could become a star:

"His mother told him someday you will be a man
And you will be the leader of a big old band
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight."

A live version of "Johnny B. Goode" by Jimi Hendrix was released in 1972 after Hendrix's death, and the English heavy metal band Judas Priest recorded a cover version in 1988. Both versions made it into the top 100 on the UK singles chart.

Answer: Lady B. Goode

A sequel to the song "Johnny B. Goode," called "Lady B. Goode," was included on Chuck Berry's final studio album, "Chuck," which was released in 2017. The song is about a girl who fell in love with Johnny B. Goode and "followed him around where he would play his guitar / Till he got so popular they made him a star / Then she could only see him on a TV screen / And hoped someday that he'd come back to New Orleans."

While Johnny is off achieving stardom, Lady B. Goode has his baby. She fears he'll never return. He writes her and tells her he wants her to play the part of Lady B. Goode in a movie about his life:

"She went to see the movie when it hit the screen
Babysitting Johnnie Jr. down in New Orleans
He saw his daddy sing the song he heard in school.
The one his mother told him about the golden rule
Tears filled her eyes when they misunderstood
When everybody knew that she was Lady B. Goode."

Answer: Back to the Future

Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox and backed by the Starlighters, plays a cover version of "Johnny B. Goode" at a high school dance in "Back to the Future." McFly has travelled back in time, and the song has not yet been released. The character even does a Chuck Berry duck walk as part of his performance.

"Johnny B. Goode" has been covered by a diverse array of musicians, from Sex Pistols, Elton John, and The Beach Boys to Elvis Presley, Billy Idiot, and Grateful Dead.