Quote / Unquote
What I loved about Johnnie is that he was so open towards me. He recognized me. He made me feel like I was an equal. You have to remember where I come from, I was a little white kid looking up to these guys. It was a joy to play with him. It was a joy and a privilege.
Eric Clapton
3-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
If you got a brick laying company and you’re the boss, everybody be looking at you, but they don’t look behind the wall to see who’s laying the bricks. Johnnie Johnson was the bricklayer. Chuck (Berry) was out there showing you how beautiful the building was when it was finished, while Johnnie Johnson laid the brick.
Buddy Guy
Member – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
He’s our architect, so it was odd that he wouldn’t have one (hall of fame statuette). He took it in the best possible spirit. He put it on his mantel and Frances said frequently that he really enjoyed having this thing on his mantel. I was thrilled that my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame statuette got to sit on Johnnie Johnson’s mantel for awhile.
John Sebastian
on why he sent his hall of fame statue to Johnnie in 2000
I don’t think he gets enough recognition for being a cornerstone, a foundation for rock and roll. He seemed to have such a tremendously profound impact on our whole psyche about rock and roll. What makes those records stand apart from all those other styles of music, I think in large part, one of the main ingredients is Johnnie Johnson.
Michael McDonald
narrator of JBG
I’m just a fan. And I just want to say how much I care and how much of an honor it was to have Johnnie down at my house, and I still look back at it and I go, when I was 17 years old, listening to these records, playing this music that I never thought I’d have a career in. God, to be able to 25 years later, 30 years later, to say that I actually met him, hung out with him, be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the same stage, it’s incredible.
Joe Perry
Aerosmith – Member, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
I thought it was God playing on those records. Even before I knew who Johnnie Johnson was I was trying to play like him. I was studying him. Back when I thought God was on the keys, I was studying him. There was no time lag between what he felt in his heart to play, what he thought about playing, and what he actually played, and when he played, he swung his ass off.
Paul Shaffer
musician
Any of the albums he appears on, his piano playing is just uniquely Johnnie Johnson. Johnnie was a very special man and a very special musician and he deserves to have this film made about him. Love you Johnnie Johnson, miss you man.
Pat St. John
Sirius Satellite Radio
He was given great acclaim and accolades and that’s a wonderful thing to have happen at that stage in your career. I’m very glad he was inducted and I’m glad he was inducted while he was still alive. It’s always a wonderful reward to receive and be able to appreciate.
Terry Stewart
former President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
He’s as close to being a founding father of rock and roll as we have and they ought to put him on a stamp.
Bonnie Raitt
Member – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
One of his gifts to this world, he gave us that kind of rhythmic feel that we call rock and roll.
Bob Weir
Member – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The man is scary, you understand, he’s scary, but nobody ever figured this out in the earlier years.
Bo Diddley
Member – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
All the musicians knew who he was, but the public didn’t. And I think it’s time the public did know what this man’s contributed to rock and roll.
Johnny Rivers
Rock and Roll Star
Because you just have to know him and what a beautiful person he is. You just fall in love with the guy. He is so pure and humble he brings out the best in people, just like he does onstage.
Travis Fitzpatrick
Johnnie Johnson’s biographer
I know he’s with me, he’ll always be with me. I think he’s still kind of watching over me, making sure that I carry on.
Frances Johnson
Johnnie’s wife
We got to make the record with Johnnie, and it changed our lives, it really did. It’s just like everybody Johnnie has ever played with has touched their lives and changed it musically forever.
Richard Young
Kentucky Headhunters
I cannot think of anyone else who I think had a larger influence on rock and roll than Chuck Berry. I have to give credit to both those guys, especially Johnnie where the piano was concerned. In my mind he was the father of rock and roll piano.
Chuck Leavell
of the Rolling Stones
There’s no doubt about the fact that the most famous sound that influenced every rock and roll musician, Johnnie Johnson had a hand in.
Taylor Hackford
director of “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll”
While it’s indisputable that Johnnie influenced every rock & roll musician in one way or another…his signature style rooted in the Blues, was also the matrix that allowed something else to take form, for myself and other rock players, who went on to explore jazz and classical music. Simply put; Johnnie was the paradigm from which so much wonderful music has been created.
