Tune du Jour: “Johnnie B Goode” – Chuck Berry
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: 5-Driver vs. Nikki Sudden vs. Yami Bolo
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CoverMeImpressed.com CoverMeImpressed.com CoverMeImpressed.com
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Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!
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The Original
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Chuck Berry:
Very Nice Live Version:
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THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
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5-Driver vs. Nikki Sudden vs. Yami Bolo
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5-Driver:
Nikki Sudden:
Yami Bolo:
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Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?
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Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
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cover me impressed 
Anybody, and I mean anybody, who learned to play rock guitar in the ’70s always learned to play certain songs first. When you knew 3 chords you could finally play Louie Louie and Wild Thing. When you finally learned your 4th chord you were able to graduate to Johnny B. Goode. It’s the foundation on which 90% of rock music is built. For example, I think the reason that Led Zeppelin called the song that comes after Black Dog on their 4th album “Rock ‘n’ Roll” is because it is just that; the exact same 4 chords in the same order as Johnny B. Goode. The Stones have “Carol”. The Who have “Long Live Rock”. The Kinks have “All The Day And All Night”. The list goes on and on. It’s gotta be the most copped riff in Rock history. If George Harrison could be sued for My Sweet Lord, seems to me that Chuck Berry could have sued just about every rock band who ever made an album.
These 3 covers are all very good. (I think you’re getting the hang of this, Dubbsie.) I think I probably liked Yami Bolo’s reggae version the best. But I’m voting for 5-Driver because just when they had me thinking that they couldn’t possibly play this song any faster, they sped up! Now that impressed me, because if ya gotta play the immortal 4 chords in the immortal proscribed sequence, as I explained earlier, then you might as well see if you can play them faster than the last guy.
Okay, for me this one was not a fair fight. I love Nikki Sudden and his signature sound. I saw him perform a couple of times in the early ’90s when he was hanging out with the R.E.M. boys and Kevn Kinney in Athens/Atlanta. Regardless of who he was sharing the stage with they were simply great shows. So, yeah, I was predisposed from the start to pin my vote to Sudden. But no shame here, his rollicking version of Johnny B Goode lives up to any cover of the song I’ve ever heard.
But I must also acknowledge that 5-Driver and Yami Bolo knocked out great renditions as well. If not for Nikki’s presence, I would have had a hard time choosing between the two.
Truly great (and diverse) efforts by all three bands!
I’m feeling like a bit of a curmudgeon here, having declared my dislike of House of the Rising Sun, Me & Bobbi McGee, and now, saying unequivocally that I do NOT like this song. Never have, never will. Like Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock-n-Roll” and most versions of “Proud Mary”, Johnny B. Goode just gets under my skin. So sue me. I voted for Yami Bolo, because his version sounds nothing like the original, which suits me just fine.
I stuck with tradition and voted Sudden, although I liked the Bolo’s version.