Johnnie Johnson, the self-taught pianist who birthed rock 'n' roll as Chuck Berry's sidekick and was the inspiration for "Johnny B. Goode," died April 13 in St. Louis, Mo. He was 80.
Although Johnson was hospitalized a month ago for pneumonia and had also been on dialysis, he was giving performances as recently as two weeks ago.
The riffs in many of Berry's famous tunes --"Maybellene," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Rock and Roll Music" -- were composed by Johnson and then transposed to guitar by Berry. Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," was a tribute to Johnson.
Berry, 78, was a young guitarist starting out when Johnson called on him to replace as ill saxophonists for a New Year's Eve gig in 1952. Johnson asked Berry to join the Sir John Trio, and the guitarist soon became the frontman.
After getting an endorsement from Muddy Waters, Berry signed with Chess Records. Johnson, a native of Fairmont, West Va., also arranged many of their songs. Their partnership produced dozens of hit songs and Johnson played in the road bands of both Berry and blues guitarist Albert King in the 1960s. Berry and Johnson parted company in 1973.
Johnson received a considerable career boost in 1986 when Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones brought Berry and Johnson back together for a tribute concert that became the film "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll." At the time, Johnson was a bus driver. He would later play piano for Richards' side project, the Expensive Winos.
The rediscovery paved the way for Johnson to start making solo albums, beginning in 1988 with "Blue Hand Johnnie" and including discs for Elektra and MusicMasters. And while overseas festivals welcomed the return of Johnson, he was still relegated to playing old blues clubs in St. Louis in the late '80s.
Johnson filed a lawsuit in 2000 claiming he was owed royalties on 52 sings that he said he co-wrote with Berry. Berry had claimed sole ownership and Johnson blamed alcoholism and a low IQ as to why he did not fight it earlier. A judge threw out the case, saying Johnson had waited too long to pursue the case.
Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Richards handled the induction, calling the pianist "an American work of art."
Johnson last performed at a new club in Clayton, Mo., as well as a special NCAA Final Four-related concert in St. Louis. Johnson had also been planning to return to his West Virginia hometown to teach a music class later this year.
Johnson is survived by his wife, Frances, 10 children and numerous grandchildren.
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