For the next installment Chuck Berry-related coverage, here we have an instance of Berry himself snatching the opening riff for “Johnny B. Goode” directly from 1940’s R&B icon Louis Jordan‘s guitarist Carl Hogan. Of course, the song is Chuck Berry’s best known work and a masterpiece in its own right, having been the representative rock n’ roll song shot up into space on the Voyager and just generally one hell of a tour de force. However, when Brian Wilson in turn came along and borrowed the same riff for the Beach Boys, which he was no stranger to doing, this time Chuck Berry was less the progenitor and more just the link.
Naturally, all this doesn’t stop Berry’s take from having exponentially more bite than the other two combined. Listen to how the same riff evolves to service pre-rock jump blues, then gritty rock n’ roll, and finally blithe little pop confection:
See also:
Sweet Little Sixteen vs. Surfin’ USA
And Walk This Way by Aerosmith (1975), more famous for the version with Run-DMC sounds like Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry (1955), there’s even a play on Chuck Berry’s reference to Hey Diddle Diddle. I’ve come across others as well that sound like Roll Over Beethoven, I think one was by the Steve Miller Band, but I can’t remember the names of the songs now. Anyway, considering the lyrics the others aren’t as similar as Walk This Way is to Roll Over Beethoven. Now I’m discussing Aerosmith, Dani California by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers sounds like Dream On (1973).
And Gypsy Train by Toto (1992) sounds like Rag Doll by Aerosmith (1985). While I’m on the subject of Toto, Don’t Chain My Heart (1992) sounds like Unchain My Heart.