For a time, the John McCain campaign had adopted rock and roll legend Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” as the campaign’s theme song, but Chuck Berry has made it clear which candidate he supports.
The Republican hopeful John McCain may be pushing 72, but his “town hall” events can be as noisy as the stadiums where Barack Obama appears on stage to the strains of U2’s “Beautiful Day.” But the McCain camp is having trouble settling on a suitable campaign anthem. After searching for months, it finally picked “Johnny B Goode” – Chuck Berry’s rock ‘n’ roll classic from 1958. The high-power guitar licks and “Go, Johnny, go” chorus put a spring in Mr McCain’s step. When asked why he chose it, he quipped: “It might be because it is the only one [the artist] hasn’t complained about us using.”
Berry, 81, may not have complained about his song being appropriated by Mr McCain, but he has made it clear he would prefer Barack Obama in the White House. “America has finally come to this point where you can pick a man of colour and that not be a drawback,” Berry said. “It’s no question, myself being a man of colour. I mean, you have to feel good about it.”
The anointment of Mr Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate was, he added, “definitely a proud and successful moment for all the people of this country – not just black people, but Americans in general”.
Berry, known as the “father of rock ‘n’ roll”, recounted: “In the Fifties there were certain places we couldn’t ride on the bus, and now there is a possibility of a black man being in White House.” “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last,” he added, quoting Martin Luther King.
There was a groan at McCain headquarters as it suffered yet another musical derailment. An attempt to use Abba’s “Take A Chance On Me” also bombed. “We played it a couple times and it’s my understanding [Abba] went berserk,” Mr McCain said.
Source: No, Johnny, No: Chuck Berry joins chorus of musicians snubbing McCain’s campaign
Since Chuck Berry spoilt McCain’s plans to hijack Johnny B Goode by praising Barack Obama, he’s reverted to a previous, extremely odd choice: Abba’s Take a Chance On Me. But even the Swedes are not happy and you can imagine why.
Aside from the fact that McCain was 41 and piously un-disco when the song was released, it just reeks of an ill-fated musical, political and geographical gamble. For a start, the key phrase of the song paints a vote for McCain as some kind of risky bet. Secondly, and most importantly for flag-waving Republican voters, it’s not even American. Could it be that no half-decent US band will allow their song to be carefully woven into the campaign of a wholly unsavoury presidential candidate? Let’s have a look at the past evidence…
Source: Will anyone sing for John McCain?
For the curious, the article does document these failed attempts. But we’ll take a detour and use this as an opportunity to listen to Chuck Berry in his heyday singing “Johnny B. Goode.”
Obama Supporter Chuck Berry Says No, Johnny No, to McCain
