While leafing through my Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, I came upon the horrifying fact that Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the song that started rock, peaked at number eight in 1958. What seven forgettable songs were deemed better than this classic? –Tim Ring, Montreal
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Cecil loves the classics as much as the next guy, but let’s not get carried away. “Johnny B. Goode” did not start rock. Even “Maybellene,” Chuck Berry’s first hit (number five in 1955), did not start rock, though it was one of the earliest rock tunes to make it big. If there’s one tune that put rock ‘n’ roll over the top, I say it’s got to be Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” (1955), which became, admittedly not right away, a monster smash selling 22 million copies. And let’s not forget the contribution of Alan Freed, the Cleveland deejay credited with attaching the term “rock ‘n’ roll” to the emerging new sound in the early 50s.
