Johnny Ryall

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Johnny Ryall is track #03 on Paul's Boutique by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989.

• Produced & written by the Beastie Boys & the Dust Brothers.
• Engineered by Mario Caldato & Allen Abrahamson.

The subject of this track is a homeless bum named Johnny Ryall, who hails from uptown, downtown, and crosstown New York City. Johnny is seen as a leader figure among the drunken street bums, the archetype of an upscale version of the urban wino. He's got the hand-me-down Pumas and the tie-dyes. He drinks a lot of liquor, but he doesn't drink piss. He's better off drinkin' than smokin' the rocks.

Johnny claims to be a famous rockabilly musician who purportedly wrote the classic song "Blue Suede Shoes" later sung by Elvis, but this claim is unconfirmed and highly doubtful.

Recognizable among the samples here is Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff" ('who do you think you are?').