Intermediate Electric, Rock N Roll & Early Pop, Songbook A-Z

Johnny B. Goode Chords | Chuck Berry Guitar Lesson

In this guitar lesson, you’ll get the chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a full chord chart, and TAB to guide you as you learn Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry!

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Chords + Lyrics | Johnny B. Goode

Intro

Verse 1

Chorus 1

Verse 2

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack, go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track.
All the engineers would see him sitting in the shade, strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made.
The people passing by they would stop and say, “Oh my what that little country boy could play”.

Chorus 2

Solo

||: Bb N.C | Bb N.C | Bb N.C Bb N.C | Bb |
| Eb5 (Eb6) | Eb5 (Eb6) | Bb5 (Bb6) | Bb5 (Bb6) |
1. | F5 (F6) | Eb5 (Eb6) | Bb (Bb6) | Bb5 (Bb6) :||
2. | F5 (F6) | F5 (F6) | Bb (Bb6) | Bb5 (Bb6) |

Verse 3

His mother told him “Someday you will be a man, and you will be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around, to hear you play your music when the sun go down.
Maybe someday your name will be in lights, saying: Johnny B. Goode tonight”.

Chorus 3

Johnny B. Goode – The Classic Honky Tonk Progression

Built around an iconic honky tonk riff, Johnny B. Goode follows a classic twelve-bar blues progression. The riff can be thought of as moving between the 5 and 6 chords, giving the rhythm its signature bounce.

Verse + Chorus

Here’s the chord progression used for both the verse and chorus:

In the intro, chorus 1 (but not choruses 2 and 3), and solo 1, the F moves down to an Eb, like this:

Although it’s hard to see how most bands would stick rigidly to this, they’d probably include the Eb move in all choruses.

To get TAB for every single section — including all three different chorus licks and both solos — check out the full TAB lesson here: Johnny B. Goode – Guitar Lesson with TAB.

Intro + Solo

The variation you absolutely must nail comes in the intro and solo sections, where stops are added for extra punch.

The intro starts like this:

| N.C | N.C | Bb N.C | N.C |

In the solo, the stops are more frequent:

Despite its simplicity, Johnny B. Goode has become a rock ’n’ roll anthem, proving that a great song doesn’t need to be complex.

Interestingly, in most bands I’ve played with, this song is rarely performed in the original key. Instead, A or B tend to be more common. My top tip? Learn it in all three keys — there’s nothing worse than a band launching into different keys on stage.

For the chord chart, I prefer raising the 6 chords rather than putting them in brackets, as it more clearly shows the honky tonk pattern. What do you prefer: chords written above the lyrics, or a standalone chart?

Johnny B. Goode Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download

One thing you may have noticed in the chart — and possibly in the chords and lyrics as well — is the IV chord in bar 10 of the intro. This doesn’t appear in the verse or in most choruses.

Normally, I’m a stickler for getting things exactly right, but in the case of Johnny B. Goode, I’d argue that this chord is unnecessary. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it may even be a mistake in the original recording.

Download my chord chart as an iReal Pro file and you can easily change the key, as mentioned earlier. You might even want to remove that intro variation before sending it to your bandmates — who will no doubt start asking why you’re making things more complicated than they need to be!

Johnny B. Goode TAB | Course Preview

In the course, I’ve transcribed the complete song, including the way every chorus differs. I’ve also combined some of the guitar parts (there are two on the original recording) so you can play this convincingly in a band as the sole guitarist.

As a preview, here’s the intro. Notice how I’m bending from fret 9 by only a semitone, rather than bending from fret 8 by a whole tone. This gives it a more old-school sound and keeps it closer to the spirit of T-Bone Walker — Chuck Berry’s main influence.

The reason T-Bone often bent by just one fret was down to the thicker strings used at the time. To get this sound, simply bend less, but from a fret higher.

The Most Recognised Rock ‘n’ Roll Song of All Time!

Ranked #7 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry is synonymous with the electric guitar.

Released in 1958 on the blues label Chess, it never quite reached the top spot, peaking at #2. However, its lasting legacy has made it legendary—some even say it’s the most recognised rock ‘n’ roll song of all time.

If you’re wondering whether this is a song worth learning, you might have a future as a bass player instead of a guitarist! Make no mistake—this is a must-know track, and when it comes to the intro, only note-for-note accuracy will do.

Alongside more modern classics like Sweet Child O’ Mine, Sweet Home Alabama, and Summer of ’69, Johnny B. Goode sits firmly on the “must-know” list for any serious rock guitarist.

This song is a piece of music history—study the chords and lyrics carefully, because you’ll be playing it for years to come!

Johnny B. Goode Chords: Continue Learning

Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) Guitar Lesson with TAB.

Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: