Musician Berry reflects on career with Johnson

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. -- Rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry had just returned from a European tour when he learned at Chicago's O'Hare Airport that his longtime friend and collaborator Johnnie Johnson was dead at age 80.

Late Wednesday, he went directly to Blueberry Hill nightclub in this St. Louis suburb, where they had played together as recently as a year ago, to remember "the man with a dynamite right hand" with whom he shared a half-century of music and memories.

A master of boogie-woogie, Johnson was "my piano player who no one else has come near," said Berry, now 78.

Through 50-plus years of riffs and syncopation, a marriage-like appreciation of the other, late-night jams, and later a painful lawsuit that for a time silenced the duo, Berry and Johnson only grew in their mutual admiration and synch.

"Johnnie and I have always been friends," Berry said. "We never lost our friendship."

Johnson, a self-taught pianist with a low-key, gentle persona, never won the fame that was heaped upon Berry. But he eventually became known as the "Father of Rock 'N' Roll Piano" and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 in the "sidemen" category.

Johnson's and Berry's long collaboration helped define early rock 'n' roll and put St. Louis on the music map along with the budding team of Ike and Tina Turner. Each performed at clubs on both sides of the nearby Mississippi River.

Their long partnership, forged in the '50s, ran steadily for 20 years. They still performed occasionally in the 1980s and '90s.

On New Year's Eve 1952 at The Cosmopolitan in East St. Louis, Ill., Johnson called Berry to fill in for an ailing saxophonist in his Sir John Trio.

The struggling and unknown Berry, who says he was playing more then for enjoyment than money, rushed over.

"He gave me a break" and his first commercial gig, for $4, Berry recalled. "I was excited. My best turned into a mess. I stole the group from Johnny."

Johnson never held it against him.

"Midway through the show, Chuck did a hillbilly country number with a bluesy vein, and it knocked people out," said Blueberry Hill club owner Joe Edwards, a friend of both men.

Johnson later recalled that Berry had a car that allowed them to travel to more distant clubs such as the Blue Flame, Blue Note and Club Imperial.

Berry played so well that he became front man for the band, which took his name. Their long partnership, forged in the '50s, would run steadily for another 20 years. They still performed occasionally in the 1980s and '90s.

Berry said they played well off each other, especially competing riffs.

Edwards said their collaboration formed the bricks of rock 'n roll, and that the two stirred hillbilly and blues in one pot to create a unique sound.

Johnson often composed the music on piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics. Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," in fact, was a tribute to Johnson.

After he and Berry parted ways, Johnson performed with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley, among others.

Still, there were rough spots between Johnson and Berry. In 2000, Johnson sued Berry over royalties and credit he believed he was due for the songs they composed together. The lawsuit was dismissed two years later.

Berry said he always wondered who was behind the lawsuit, because "Johnnie would never initiate a complaint such as that. Johnnie would never have waited 40 years to sue."

Berry said he would perform a tribute concert in Johnson's honor, ideally at downtown St. Louis's roughly 70,000-seat Edward Jones Dome.

"We'll fill that sucker," he said.

Though Berry said he'll miss his friend and his music, he's not melancholy.

"My turn is coming very soon," he said. "Would you shed a tear for Chuck? I hope not, because I don't see why one should weep when something inevitable must come.

"At 78, I'm glad to be anywhere, anytime."

Visitation will be held April 21 at the Ronald L. Jones Funeral Chapel followed by a funeral service April 22 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in St. Louis. He will be buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

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