Rock and Roll; Interview with Johnnie Johnson [Part 1 of 3]

Queen. Of the start off with would you tell us where where you grew up and when you're when you're starting to listen to music what kind of music were you listening. Well I grew up in West Virginia a place called family and I used to listen to a station KDKA pitch very played big band music and I'd become interested in it then but I had started fooling around with piano my parents bought a piano when I was eight about five or six years old and when they moved into the house I said honest. Mess I know it and I struck up a tune there by I know out what I was playing it at that time it was called chopsticks. So I just kept developing development until I got where I am today. What was your favorite kind of music. Well I used to you know cold whatever it was all

blues. But they call the house dance. Private homes and whatever and be just a piano player and be out of place playing and singing. Well at that time I think they're saying I like Bessie Smith and those type of blues. Maybe you could say again that you grew up listening mostly to just play a little bit of that kind of music. Well it was. If you could just kind of repeat what you said before in a way. You heard a lot of in West Virginia and kind of like this. Yeah. I grew up around blues. Women singers for me and sang and they were playing with a little of what they call now they call it Kansas City. This will go on. She's probably five six o'clock and six

o'clock next morning. So this is right let's cut here for a second. I want to thank you I guess. OK. So when you tell me the story that Sharon is referring to. Oh there when I was told You know I started messing around the piano very young. Well that they age about eight or nine I really could play tunes that people understand and they could really dance to it. So. I had a real crazy about a plan so that my mother would put me to bed at night. He would come and steal it out of the bed and take me to the Brown house places you know that and be sent to a play and in my pajamas or whatever and people danced and homebrew would be all over the top of the piano. And my mother can give me all the way back home and cut out all me you

know he disappeared you know in this happen in just about every weekend. So I guess it's got in my blood that I was going to be a mutation or create about music or whatever. So and I don't I really got into it when I actually got interested in being a musician professionally when I went Marine. I got with this what they call a special service band and musicians and they're from all big band some like Glenn Miller and I was fortunate enough to be the piano player with these people and I say this is it that when I get a life I will get back into the business and I've got into a nice develop into a pretty fair living. That's a great story. Tell me about when you when you came to St. Louis and the band you started here back in the 50s and wed like to leave is

what the band what kind of music you're playing what we were how Chuck Berry came to join that. OK well back in the time we were playing standard most of us music what I mean was the music score that was written out such as Star does and things of that sort. And I was playing this club called the cosmopolitan and the same. And one particular weekend my saxophone player got sick and couldn't make it. So I had met Chuck previously because he was playing right up the street from me. And I used to go up there where I'd always finished version I go up and listen. They don't have a piano player and I just go up and listen. So I had his number and I give him a call and I asked him would he feel inform me that one night you know and he did that one night lasted about 20 30 years. Yeah we started in fifty three and I say with him up until 73 you regular then have to start traveling going over in Europe and the type of flat. So I would stay on until he got back to the hook up and

start out again. Let's stop here cut please. So let's start now. I guess you could describe the small band you had to check very became a part. Talk and maybe you could play just a little bit to show us the kind of music that man was doing. Well it wasn't called rock n roll and that's all the show. Which is rock n roll. What a name it was just just. And this is playing this kind of an End show come up with this. Strong economy. It was called out of it which was he'll believe music. And they would form a little circle of people and form a circle they start a square dance. You know people always looking for something

different. And this was different so he decided to take it to Chicago to Chess Records what it took to sell the. Recording so I could. Have a name causes national Tennessee already planned. So we changed a few lyrics around and. We didn't know what to name it so we looked on that and then there was a mask. So in chess a little game. So they needed to do some more chain with AS. We did on the back of. This blue Alice. I thought that would be the sad because that's what used to play in

a Saturday and sat back in those days. And they believe they saw copies less than six weeks time. And that's when we got this big tour this one up in a second. Tell me a little bit demonstrated on the piano. How had a more of a country compared to ours. Yeah. But this was the background of the. Just chop chop chop chop chop chop put the legs of the rock and roll.

You know how rock n roll got the name. Alan. Yeah. That one again. Could you just start out by saying I played something like this and say that was more of a country than if you start off with a record maybe this was the part over play. Repeated the cell phone over and over don't know. When that song came out. People think people know that he was a

black man. This was funny. We went on a lot of places. That when they were called Chuck Berry. Well the drama and I would already be out and they would call them out on the stage. You know a lot of you know like. Black Man it's hard they're saying in this song you know. Goodness together and you could hear the crowd. I thought he was white. I thought he was white and he was cracked out in a song you know. And so. It was really a deal because a lot of places we played until he got there my songs he was saying. You know no refrigeration so yeah I think. Everybody can. And I don't think he did or so.