# Songs about Johnny... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252 "2002-11-04T20:20:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/1 "2002-11-04T20:20:10Z")
hm… lost the OP… here it is again: I was thinking today… it seems that every song that tells a story about a rock star who makes it big and then either burns out or fades away is about “Johnny.” Two examples off the top of my head are “Shooting Star” by **Bad Company** , and “Blaze of Glory” by **Joe Jackson**. 1. Any other songs about musicians named Johnny? 2. Why are all songs of this type about Johnny? Is there some actual Johnny that they’re all referencing, or is it just an easy name to fit into a song? ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/2 "2002-11-04T20:38:42Z")
Don’t know of any actual Johnny but I’ll just add Johnny B Goode (spl?). Go Johnny Go! I thought the thread was about all Johnny songs. I was going to add Johnny 99 by Bruce Springsteen but I decided against it. Oh wait? ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/3 "2002-11-04T20:40:11Z")
Don’t know of any actual Johnny but I’ll just add Johnny B Goode (spl?). Go Johnny Go! I thought the thread was about all Johnny songs. I was going to add Johnny 99 by Bruce Springsteen but I decided against it. Oh wait, his real name was Ralph in the song but he was nick named Johnny 99. But it don’t mater since he wasn’t a musician. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/4 "2002-11-04T21:03:41Z")
the fiddler in Devil Comes Down To Georgia was named “Johnny” There’s just a lot of songs about people named Johnny . . . also “Who’s Johnny” and “Angry Johnny”, come to think of it. I’ve been wondering about that for a while now. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/5 "2002-11-04T21:07:24Z")
Maybe Johnny is part of the illuminati… or the clique! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/6 "2002-11-04T21:32:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe Johnny is part of the illuminati… (Makes note of **Eonwe** ’s post.) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/7 "2002-11-04T21:38:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Why are all songs of this type about Johnny? I’m guessing it’s an _homage_ to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the seminal song about a boy named Johnny making it big in rock-n-roll. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/8 "2002-11-05T02:56:30Z")
Now _here’s_ a reference for you… In the video, “Everybody Run, the Homecoming Queen has a Gun,” the Homecoming Queen says she did it all for Johnny. That fits with the Illuminati/mind control theme. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/9 "2002-11-05T03:11:46Z")
Another one for the list: [come back jonee](http://www.freedomofchoice.com/devo/lyrics.asp?Submit=View+Lyrics&AlbumID=7&SongID=89) by Devo. ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/10 "2002-11-05T04:35:57Z")
Didn’t Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open have a Jonny? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/11 "2002-11-05T04:41:38Z")
“Johnny played guitar, Jenny played bass. Name of the band is The Human Race. Everybody tell me have you heard? Pop goes the world.” –Men Without Hats ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/12 "2002-11-05T04:41:51Z")
Men at Work’s _Be Good Johnny_ is very different from Chuck Berry’s song, but may have started out as an homage. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/13 "2002-11-05T05:16:00Z")
Don’t forget Johnny does the Walk of Life: **Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say** as chronicled by Dire Straits ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/14 "2002-11-05T05:59:56Z")
“When Johnny Strikes Up The Band” - **Warren Zevon** “New Kid in Town” - **The Eagles** “It Ain’t 1918” - **Sparks** ---
**Author:** ![Rock-n-Rolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@Rock-n-Rolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rock-n-Rolga)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/15 "2002-11-05T06:56:28Z")
Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy had something of an alter-ego named Johnny the Fox. Lizzy did an album called ‘Johnny the Fox’ and had several songs which also referenced the character ('Johnny" and “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed”), who was more of an urban hustler type than a rockstar. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/16 "2002-11-05T07:01:29Z")
Tom Petty’s new one, _The Last DJ_ , has a song called “Money Becomes King” which is a narrative about a musician named Johnny. He sure gets around. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/17 "2002-11-05T07:15:33Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Roadwalker_ > **Didn’t Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open have a Jonny?** Nope. “Eddie waited 'till he finished high school.” ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/18 "2002-11-05T12:02:31Z")
Neil Young’s _Hey, Hey, My, My_ and also his _My, My, Hey, Hey_ are stories of a Johnny Rotten. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/19 "2002-11-05T12:08:37Z")
Don’t think he’s a musician, but I’ll never forget k.d. lang singing “Johnny Get Angry, Johnny Get Mad” in a Purple zoot suit on Saturday Night Live. Yum-I nearly switched teams! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252/20 "2002-11-05T12:31:26Z")
“Hey there, Johnny-boy, I hope you fry!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-johnny/135252.md?page=2)