1958 Rock Classic Named Among Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time

Chuck Berry is on the short list of the greatest guitarists to ever play and helped inspire a generation of rock and roll.

For his efforts, Berry earned No. 6 on Rolling Stone's greatest guitar solos of all time with his work on Johnny B. Goode.

"Chuck Berry perfected the rock & roll guitar solo as we know it in 'Johnny B. Goode,' the definitive guitar-hero anthem," Rolling Stone wrote. "His opening 18-second barrage was the shot heard around the world, a Tunguska-level blast of electric bravado that inspired half the players on this list to pick up their first guitar."

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said, "Chuck is the granddaddy of us all."

'Johnny B. Goode' Was Ode to Berry's Piano Player

The name ‘Johnny' came from Johnnie Johnson, Berry's go-to pianist who'd pounded the ivories on such classics as Maybellene, Roll Over Beethoven and Sweet Little 16, according to Vintage Rock Mag.

Discussing Johnny B. Goode to Doug Donnelly of The Monroe News in 1998, Johnson admitted, "I played no part in nothing of Johnny B. Goode. On other songs, Chuck and I worked together, but not that one. We were playing one night, I think it was Chicago, and he played it. Afterwards, he told me it was a tribute to me. He did it on his own. I didn't know nothing about it. It was never discussed."

In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft - Voyager 1 and 2 - to explore Jupiter, Saturn and beyond. Each carried a 12-inch gold plated record that contained music, sounds and images picked to represent the great diversity of life on Earth and Berry's Johnny B. Goode made the list.

The song reached No. 8 on the United States Billboard charts.

Related: 1980 Rock Classic Named Among Greatest Guitar Riffs of All Time

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:37 PM.