The smile never left Frances Johnson’s face on Monday, November 28 as she sat between Montford Point Marines and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill on the National Blues Museum’s performance stage in downtown St. Louis. She was there on behalf of her late husband Johnnie Clyde Johnson – who was being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.
The medal is awarded to individuals “who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipient’s field long after the achievement.”
Johnson, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and longtime St. Louisan who passed in 2005 at age 80, had a hand in laying the foundation for the genre. The jazz and blues pianist and bandleader gave Chuck Berry his first big break as a professional musician. Berry would eventually become known as one of the original architects of rock and roll; Johnson’s pivotal role in Berry’s earliest compositions and recordings of the 1950s was recognized much later and became a matter of legal dispute.
“This was a man who could speak to people in the language of music,” McCaskill said. “That language doesn’t have a skin color, it doesn’t have a religion, it doesn’t care how rich or poor you are. It doesn’t care what neighborhood you’re from. Music is a universal language – and no one spoke it better than Johnnie Johnson.”
During the ceremony, Johnson was recognized as much for his service to the country as a member of the Montford Point Marines as for his contributions to music – perhaps even more so.
The program was facilitated by the Montford Point Marines, who are historic for being the first group of African Americans to serve alongside white Marines in the U.S. military. As part of the festivities, a historical overview of the group was shared. Johnson, a member of the inaugural Montford Point Marines, served from 1942-1949.
“Johnnie Johnson had traveled and seen the face of racism in many different ways, yet he signed up and said, ‘Take me. I want to fight for my country,’” McCaskill said. “He signed up not only knowing he was willing to risk his life for his country, but also that he would endure what most of the Montford Point Marines endured – a lack of recognition for their courage, not being embraced by their fellow marines and personal cruelty.”
It was while serving as a Montford Point Marine in World War II that Johnson joined the Barracudas, Bobby Troup’s all-serviceman jazz orchestra.
The course of popular music in America – and, subsequently, the world – would never be the same because of what happened when Johnson moved to St. Louis soon after his military career ended. He called Chuck Berry as a replacement within his Sir John Trio because of the illness of another member. The partnership they formed would help propel Berry into the territory of musical pioneer.
He is said to be the inspiration behind 1958’s “Johnny B. Goode,” one of Berry’s biggest hits, and many have argued – Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, for one – that many of Berry’s signature guitar patterns and rhythms were adapted from Johnson’s playing without proper credit. McCaskill alluded to that.
“This man who I think many would realize had a very important role in other famous people’s career, and he didn’t get always get the recognition he deserved, because he wasn’t quite as showy as some of the other musicians he hung out with – some of whom we know well here in St. Louis,” McCaskill said.
Retired Colonel Charles Boyd, a Montford Point Marine, presented Johnson’s widow with a plaque, resolution and replica of the medal.
When she opened the medal, Frances gleamed with the excitement of a child who unwrapped their gift to see it was exactly what they wished for. She delicately cupped her hands and bent down to show the room full of fans, family, friends and longtime supporters of Johnson’s musical legacy. She pointed to the medal and the plaque and locked eyes with different people she knew in the crowd, and shared with them an “can you believe this is happening” expression. It was a priceless moment for the entire room – including some who have dedicated their lives to preserving Johnson’s legacy.
Among the crowd were Johnson’s biographer Travis Fitzpatrick, author of the acclaimed 1999 book “Father of Rock and Roll: The Story of Johnnie B. Goode Johnson.” Bill Stalnaker, founder of The Johnnie Johnson Blues & Jazz Festival annually in Johnson’s hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia was on hand as well.
“He’d feel just like I feel right now – proud and honored,” Frances Johnson said of her husband. “I’m just ecstatic and beyond words. I’m so happy to see so many friends and family here to be a part of this. So many people who loved him so much are in this room. You can just feel the love.”
The way she motioned to the sky and looked upwards as she made her rounds and shared in the excitement, it was as if Frances could feel Johnnie in the room as well.
