The history of rock and roll is populated with any number of “unsung heroes,” musicians who made significant contributions to the art form but received little credit or recognition. One such individual is Johnnie Johnson. Which is why those in the know are excited about the recent release of I’m Just Johnnie , a collection of songs recorded over 20 years ago which have been gathering dust in a closet near St. Louis.

Johnson was Chuck Berry’s piano player during the ‘50s, when songs like “Johnny B. Goode,” “Maybellene” and “Roll Over Beethoven” were blasting out of transistor radios. While Berry commanded the stage, duckwalking and strutting while playing some really wild guitar, Johnson sat in the background, providing a solid musical foundation for songs that described a life full of

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