What Academic Critics Write about Johnny B. Goode

By accident I recently found a book on Rock music published in 1977 which has some interesting comments about Johnny B. Goode.
Rolling Stone Magazine recently voted it the Greatest Guitar Song of All Times. See here: http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/blog/archives/40-The-Greatest-Guitar-Song-of-All-Times.html. What a difference...

In Rockmusik (ed. Wolfgang Sander) the editor himself and his three co-authors each wrote a one-page academical review of the song. As the book is in German language, here's what you can read:

• Tibor Kneif (musicologist, author of various books on rock music, professor FU Berlin): ... unoffending-lighthearted text ... artless music ... not bad, but no better than any other mass-produced title
• Hans-Jürgen Feurich (musicologist, professor Universities Hildesheim, Chemnitz, Leipzig): ... not a number on the playbill, but a closing ritual ... simple identification mark [Prof. Feurich reviewed the abbreviated version at the end of the Live at the Fillmore album.]
• Wolfgang Sandner (musicologist, professor University Frankfurt, journalist, FAZ): ... unpretentious rock and roll ... a rude blank mould for rock art ... coarse, raw ... prototype of rock and roll
• Ulrich Olshausen (journalist, FAZ): ... agitated, but monotonous beat ... no dynamics ... instrumental break which does not add anything new other than some rhythm intermissions ... out of the ordinary only due to the text

To me this only proves that as with any art form, critics can have a huge variety of opinions. So let's get back to the facts. And there are two undisputed facts about Johnny B. Goode:

• The guitar intro to Johnny B. Goode is one of the main themes every guitar player has at least tried to reproduce.
• Its guitar licks and the text telling a poor guy's way to become a rock star have made Johnny B. Goode one of the most covered songs of all times.

And if you need another proof, look here: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=lfiTeaZjAvQ&feature=related - thanks, Carmelo.