Normally I feature only new song releases, only in this summer of 2025, I find that for the past few weeks there have been no new songs that merited being featured.
So I decided to look as some old songs, with a twist: the original composition has been 'covered', as we now say, and the covers has assumed nearly equal importance as the original.
Johnny B. Goode, was originally released as a single 67 years ago, in 1958, composed and played by the late great Chuck Berry.
Covers:
Peter Tosh in 1983, with this great, pure reggae version of the song - still one of those reggae songs that I really want to listen to. If you switch to the Spotify video, you get the 'official' Spotify video, which is a mix of different takes.
Jimi Hendrix, in this very rock version that is perhaps one of the greatest examples of his unique playing style.
This is the original version released two years after his death in 1972, on the live album, "Hendrix in The West".
Listen the start of the song, where he has a back and forth 'chat' with the audience: "...I don't know, we would like to a little loose jam, kind of thing...", and some shouts out 'Johnny B. Goode', and Hendrix says 'Johnny B. Goode, what the hell'.
I always thought that, whereas Jimi was a very professionally musician (and probably intended to anyway play this song during that set) he had decided at that moment to just jump right into the song, inspired by the shout from the audience.
If you want to get a better idea of just how he played, this film of him playing the exact same recording as on the album, is really worth watching.
Unfortunately the film does not have the original 'tune up' talk, and in some ways it's really better to listen to the song before watching him play it (if you have never heard it before) - yea, I know, the whole teeth playing thing is weird, only it was one of the things he 'did' way back when he started, so he carried on.
Would have loved to have a film version with modern day equipment and shooting technique, but hey, that's all we have.
It was 55 years ago at the Berkeley Community Center, in California on 30 May 1970.
Little did anyone know that 4 months later he would be dead in London at 27.