What songs beat out “Johnny B. Goode” (#8) on the Billboard charts?
Dear Cecil:While leafing through my Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock N’ Roll, I came upon the horrifying fact that Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the song that started rock, peaked at #8 in 1958. What seven forgettable songs were deemed better than this classic? — Tim Ring, Montreal, Quebec Dear Tim: Cecil loves the classics as much as the next guy, but let’s not get carried away. “Johnny B. Goode” did not start rock. Even “Maybellene,” Chuck Berry’s first hit (#5 in 1955), did not start rock, although it was one of the earliest rock tunes to make it big. If you’ve got to pick one tune that put rock ‘n’ roll over the top, I still say it’s got to be Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock,” which became, admittedly not right away, a monster hit selling 22 million copies. And let’s not forget the righteous contribution of Alan Freed, the Cleveland DJ who attached the term “rock ‘n’ roll” to the emerging new sound in 1954. “Johnny B. Goode” peaked at #8 on the Billboard charts on M
