Johnnie Johnson: Pioneering rock'n'roll pianist Johnnie Johnson, who has died aged 80, was never a household name, yet millions have enjoyed his music since he first stepped into a recording studio, on May 21st, 1955. It was for the recording by his discovery, Chuck Berry, of his first single, Maybellene.
Born in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1924, Johnson learned to play the piano at the age of seven. He was influenced by the jazz and boogie-woogie musicians he heard playing in bars among Fairmont's black community. Wartime service in the Marine Corps in the Pacific gave him the chance to perform with musicians from the Count Basie and Lionel Hampton bands. He settled in Chicago in 1946, began playing piano professionally, then shifted to St Louis where he led his own R&B band, the Sir John Trio.
When a band member became ill on New Year's Eve 1952, Johnson hired Berry to fill in. Berry quickly took over as the band's leader, his highly original songwriting and ability to blend every popular form of music making the band the most popular live outfit in St Louis. Muddy Waters provided Berry with an introduction to Chess Records, and the recording of Maybellene, an immediate hit, followed. It is now seen as one of the pivotal moments in the birth of rock'n'roll.
The hits continued to flow from Berry's pen for the rest of the decade, with Johnson playing piano on most in a style that became the touchstone of rock'n'roll pianists everywhere. Indeed, Berry celebrated Johnson on his most famous composition, Johnny B Goode.
He left Berry's band in the 1960s but paired up with him occasionally, not least in Curtis Hanson's 1986 documentary film about Berry, Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll. He issued several solo albums and found his piano skills in demand by Eric Clapton, Aerosmith and other rock stars. Johnson married Frances in 1989 and credited her with helping him overcome alcoholism. In 2000, he unsuccessfully sued Berry for a share of royalties. He is survived by Frances and 10 children.
Johnnie Clyde Johnson: born July 8th, 1924; died April 13th, 2005