''Go, Johnny, Go!'' is a 1959

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

film starring

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

as a talent scout searching for a future rock and roll star. Co-starring in the film are Jimmy Clanton, Sandy Stewart, and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

. The film has also been released as ''Johnny Melody'', ''The Swinging Story'' and ''The Swinging Story of Johnny Melody''.

Plot summary

performs "

Johnny B. Goode "Johnny B. Goode" is a song by American musician Chuck Berry, written and sung by Berry in 1958. Released as a Single (music), single in 1958, it peaked at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre ...

" over the opening titles. We meet a young singer ( Jimmy Clanton) who goes by the stage name of Johnny Melody. After a few opening performances, Berry and

(playing themselves) discuss their discovery of Johnny, whose fate once hinged on the toss of a coin, with Freed intimating that Johnny nearly ended-up in jail. Berry demands to know the rest of the story. Alan relates that Johnny was once a choir boy from an orphanage. After a practice, the choir director expresses his contempt for rock and roll and leaves. A moment later, he returns to find the kids performing "Ship On A Stormy Sea" with Johnny, who has no last name, in the lead. He stops the song and says that he'll call the other kids' parents, but since Johnny has no parents, he is dismissed and will be sent back to the orphanage. Instead, he gets a job as an usher in a theater, but is fired on his first day for dancing in the aisle to Jo Ann Campbell's "Mama Can I Go Out". During the performance, Alan Freed announces a talent search for a singer to be renamed "Johnny Melody". At the theater door, Johnny meets his old friend from the orphanage, Julie Arnold ( Sandy Stewart). She wants him to call her to re-connect, but he tells her he has no money for dates and is saving to record a demo record. Freed then tells Johnny that the talent search was only a publicity stunt by his agent. At a recording studio, Julie records a demo of "Playmates". On her way out, she meets Johnny again, and sings back-up on his recording of "My Love Is Strong". The record is one of many sent to Freed, but Berry, hearing something special in it, urges that it be given strong consideration. But Johnny has failed to include contact information, and his subsequent call to Freed's office fails to get through. Johnny and Julie begin to fall in love, and he wants to get her a special pin for Christmas. After pawning his trumpet, he still doesn't have enough, and he determines to break the jewelry store window with a brick. In the meantime, Freed has begun playing Johnny's record on his radio show to overwhelming response, and has started a public search for Johnny. After hearing the show, Julie rouses Freed and they trail Johnny to the area of the jewelry store, at one point flipping a coin to decide in which direction to look. They find Johnny just as he throws the brick. Freed sends Johnny away with Julie and diverts the police by pretending to be a drunk who tossed the brick. This brings us back to present, and Johnny and Julie are married.

Cast

as himself * Jimmy Clanton as Johnny Melody * Sandy Stewart as Julie Arnold *

as himself * Herb Vigran as Bill Barnett *

Frank Wilcox Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays. Background Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...

as Mr. Arnold * Barbara Wooddell as Mrs. Arnold *

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died i ...

as himself *

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...

as himself *

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

as himself * Milton Frome as Mr. Martin *

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed ''Il Molleggiato'' ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both com ...

as himself (Italian version) * Piero Vivarelli as TV director (Italian version) * Joe Cranston as Band leader * Martha Wentworth as Mrs. McGillacudy, Johnny's landlady * Robert Foulk as Policeman at jewelry store * Phil Arnold as Stagehand * William Fawcett as Janitor at radio station *

Dick Elliott Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott p ...

as Man waiting for the telephone * Inga Boling as Secretary * Joe Flynn as Usher who fires Johnny Jazz legend

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

appears uncredited as the piano player backing Chuck Berry when he sings "Little Queenie". ;Cast notes GoJohnnyGoRitchieValens

* Jimmy Clanton' was involved in the music scene of New Orleans. The first single he released, "Just a Dream", was recorded with the assistance of studio musicians such as Mac Rebennack ("Dr. John, the Night Tripper") and Allen Toussaint. Rebennack would have a top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' charts with "Right Place, Wrong Time" in 1973. The recording session for "Just a Dream" was among the early sessions that Toussaint participated. * ''Go, Johnny Go!'' was the only film appearance of

, who died shortly after filming it in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

, along with

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

and The Big Bopper. The film was released after Valens' death. * ''Go, Johnny Go!'' was Eddie Cochran's third and final appearance in a major picture. A second song, "I Remember", was filmed but cut from the final print.

Songs

# "Go, Johnny Go!" (

) –

# "I'll Take A Long Time" – Jimmy Clanton # "Jump Children" – The Flamingos # "Angel Face" – Jimmy Clanton # "Don't Be Afraid To Love" – Harvey # "Mama Can I Go Out" – Jo Ann Campbell # " Teenage Heaven" –

# "Playmates" – Sandy Stewart # "My Love Is Strong" – Jimmy Clanton # "

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

" – Chuck Berry # "Jay Walker" – The Cadillacs # "You Better Know It" –

# "Please Mr. Johnson" – The Cadillacs # "Heavenly Father" – Sandy Stewart # " Little Queenie" – Chuck Berry # "Ooh My Head" –

# "Ship On A Stormy Sea" – Jimmy Clanton

Production

''Go, Johnny Go!'' was filmed in 1-week over five days starting Monday morning January 5, 1959, at the

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

studios of Hal Roach Productions.

References

;Notes

External links

* * * {{AFI film, id=52899, title=Go, Johnny, Go! 1959 films Italian musical comedy films 1959 musical comedy films American black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films Films directed by Piero Vivarelli Rockabilly songs 1950s Italian-language films Fiction about publicity stunts American musical comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s Italian films English-language musical comedy films