# Chuck Berry — Johnny B. Goode

Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode (1958) is No. 1 in our Rock and Roll ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1958
- **Label:** Chess
- **On one list:** Rock and Roll
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Chuck Berry](https://waxonia.com/artist/chuck-berry/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/chuck-berry--johnny-b-goode/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Rock and Roll](https://waxonia.com/genre/rock-and-roll/)

The opening lick is the genre's national anthem, and the lyric invents the idea of the guitarist as protagonist. Berry wrote the rules and everyone since has been filling in the form.

## Analysis

11 sections, the first drop of 2 at 2:19, 39% of the way in, 48% of it spent climbing.

- **Key:** D minor
- **Dynamic range:** 11.8 dB — wide open — the quiet parts are genuinely quiet
- **Length:** 5:57

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: vocals
- `0:23` B · **build** (bar 11), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break
- `2:25` C · **steady** (bar 68), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `2:48` A · **breakdown** (bar 79), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning
- `3:09` D · **build** (bar 89), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: other
- `3:25` E · **steady** (bar 96), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: vocals, other
- `4:15` D · **build** (bar 120), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: vocals, other
- `4:29` E · **build** (bar 126), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: other
- `4:48` F · **peak** (bar 135), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `5:10` D · **breakdown** (bar 145), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `5:44` B · **steady** (bar 161), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: bass, other

**Drops** at 2:19 (bar 66), 5:44 (bar 161). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Chuck%20Berry%20Johnny%20B.%20Goode) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=T_WSXXPQYeY)

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