Go, Johnny, Go!

Go, Johnny Go! is a 1959 rock and roll film starring Alan Freed as a talent scout searching for a future rock and roll star. Co-starring in the film are Jimmy Clanton, Sandy Stewart, and Chuck Berry. The film has also been released as Johnny Melody, The Swinging Story and The Swinging Story of Johnny Melody.^[1]

Plot summary

This is a fiction account of a young singer Johnny Melody who gets discovered by Alan Freed. It starts with Chuck Berry and Alan discussing the young Melody with Barry intimating that he nearly ended in the slammer. Alan relays the story of how Johnny went from being a orphan with no last name to becoming a major singer.

Cast

Cast notes

• Jimmy Clanton was involved in the music scene of New Orleans. The first single he released, "Just A Dream", was recorded with the assistance of studio musicians such as Mac Rebennack ("Dr. John, the Night Tripper") and Allen Toussaint.^[2] Rebennack would have a Top 10 hit on the Billboard charts with "Right Place, Wrong Time" in 1973. The recording session for "Just A Dream" was amongst the first Toussaint would participate in; he has been very active in the music industry in the decades since then.
• Go, Johnny Go! was the only film appearance of Ritchie Valens, who died shortly after filming it in a plane crash, along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. The film was released after Valens' death.^[3]
• Go, Johnny Go! was Eddie Cochran's third and final appearance in a major picture. A second song, "I Remember", was filmed but cut from the final print.

Songs

Production

Go, Johnny Go! was filmed in five days at the Culver City, California studios of Hal Roach Productions.^[2]

References

Notes

External links

• Go, Johnny, Go! at the Internet Movie Database
• Go, Johnny, Go! at the TCM Movie Database
• Go, Johnny, Go! at AllMovie
• Go, Johnny, Go! at the American Film Institute Catalog