“Lady B. Goode,” a rocking new song by the late Chuck Berry, was posted to the guitar legend’s official Vevo page yesterday. It’s the third song to be issued from Berry’s new album, Chuck, which will be released June 9.
As its title suggests, “Lady B. Goode” is the sequel to “Johnny B. Goode,” one of Berry’s most influential songs. It also sounds a lot like its 1958 predecessor, capturing the essence of an electrifying rock-and-roll sound Berry helped create.
“In ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ Berry created the ultimate rock-and-roll folk hero in just a few snappy verses,” wrote Brad Tolinski and Alan Di Perna in their latest book, Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound & Revolution of the Electric Guitar.
“As we all know, Goode wasn’t pounding a piano, singing into a microphone or blowing a sax. In his choice of the electric guitar, something sleek and of the moment, the fictional character of Goode would forge an image of the archetypal rocker, doing as much to shape the history of the instrument as any real-life figure ever has. The song’s opening riff is a clarion call—perhaps the greatest intro in rock-and-roll history. It was played by Berry on an electric Gibson ES-350T, and it indeed sounded “just like a-ringin’ a bell.”
Comprised of 10 new recordings, eight of which were written by Berry, Chuck is the late guitarist’s first new album since 1979’s Rock It. It was recorded and produced by Berry in various studios around St. Louis and features his longtime hometown backing group—including his children Charles Berry Jr. (guitar) and Ingrid Berry (vocals, harmonica), plus Jimmy Marsala (Berry’s bassist for 40 years), Robert Lohr (piano) and Keith Robinson (drums)—which supported him for nearly two decades on over 200 residency shows at the famed Blueberry Hill club.
The album also includes guest performances by Tom Morello and Gary Clark Jr., plus Chuck’s grandson Charles Berry III. Acclaimed author and historian Douglas Brinkley wrote the liner notes.
Be sure to check out “Lady B. Goode” below. We’ve also included the new music video for “Big Boys,” which was posted May 17. It happens to be Berry’s first-ever music video.
Berry died March 18, 2017, at age 90.
