Go, Johnny, Go!

Here's another Alan Freed rock and roll movie that gives us a look and listen to some of rock's greatest stars. Musically. the film is better than average for a rock and roll film, even with Jimmy Clanton's usual nasal and bland "vocalizing". The Cadillacs do two songs; "Jay Walker" (dressed as Policemen) and the wonderful "Please Mr. Johnson". Jackie Wilson is terrific as usual (he was a very close friend of Alan Freed) and proves once again what a tremendous talent he was. The movie has some historical musical moments as well. This film has the only motion picture performance by the late, great Ritchie Valens (he does the Little Richard inspired "Ohh My Head"). Also featured is Eddie Cochran doing "Teenage Heaven". Unfortunately, performances by Eddie are rare because of his death in a traffic accident in England the following year. Check out Harvey (of The Moonglows) doing a rare solo number and a good performance by Jo Ann Campbell. Co-star Sandy Stewart performs two songs including a nice up tempo called "Playmate". "Jo Gohnny Go"'s plot is a little above average and the acting is fine in most cases. Chuck Berry is especially believable as is veteran character actor Herb Vigran. I just wish someone other than Jimmy Clanton were cast in a co starring role. Sure, he's the right age, but his acting is a bit wooden and his songs and voice makes you want to reach for the fast forward button on your remote control. Still, I would recommend this movie. Don't miss this one for a good time, great music and a little rock and roll history.

More Hollywood hooey sweetening the Rock n' Roll pie with honey drippings and vanilla leads to make all this "race record stuff" easy to swallow. Jimmy Clanton was better than Bobby Rydell, Fabian, and Frankie Avalon that didn't have a voice between them. But Clanton was by no means and equal to the talent that he was heading in this movie.

"I don't dig it, but I like it", says the old fogie and that just about sums it up for most of these types of white bread movies that were at least kind enough to put the real rockers and black singers in support. Hollywood never did get it and neither did anyone over 30 in the 50's.

That said, we do have these films to thank for a visual reference and time-capsule that otherwise would not exist. Thanx Alan Freed who is credited as one of the very first disc-jockeys to play real Rock n" Roll on his radio show "Moondawg", no matter their racial pedigree. That's the reason the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland (the home of Freed's station).

There is an attempt to overshadow the real stuff with a silly choir boy story and many songs that were at best mediocre Teeny-Bopper Pop, but the real stars are gleaming and cannot be covered by any of this pandering propaganda. We get in limited supply...Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, The Flamingos, The Cadillacs, Richie Valens, Eddie Cochran, and some others that are at least palatable.

But it shows its prejudice and the mainstreams preoccupation with suppressing this stuff, when the choir director says about RnR..."lets hope it is just a fad and will be gone by the time you grow up"...and then in the next few minutes dismisses him from the choir for singing a Pop tune while accompanied on the church organ. Most of his generation really thought that this was the Devil's music.

This is one of several Hollywood movies made in the 1950's attempting to be cool by featuring the new "fad"(to them) called rock 'n' roll. The only time Hollywood ever featured real rock 'n' roll from the early days of the new teen music was when rock artists with hit records were allowed to perform on the big screen. The Hollywood concocted rock 'n' roll was unbearable then and even more so today. The best of the rock 'n' roll films by far was "The Girl Can't Help It," which was clever and humorous, plus featuring many of the big rock artists of the day including an outstanding scene showing Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. Of all the others this one "Go, Johnny, Go" succeeds the best and as has been noted by others is the only place you can see the multi-talented seventeen year old superstar Richie Valens strutting his stuff on the big screen just before his tragic death.

Since there was no such animal as a music video, most teens heard their favorite rock stars on vinyl or on the radio. From time to time rock phenomena would appear on television on such shows as Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen. Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" seldom let the rock performers do their own thing. Most of the time the artists were asked to lip-synch their recordings. A major exception to this rule was Jerry Lee Lewis who insisted that he be allowed to do his hits live with his band. Therefore, it was truly a treat to get to see rockers on the big screen.

This movie has one of the best lists of great rock performers of the decade. There were many so-called asphalt Elvises around by 1959, especially the notorious Fabian, but lumping Jimmy Clanton with them is a mistake. Like Ricky Nelson, Clanton had a feel for the music he made. His looks left much to be desired but his songs were not half bad, particularly his one big hit "Just a Dream," one of my favorite teen ballads from the period.

Fans of early rock 'n' roll will get a kick out of watching the antics of such wonderful do wop groups as the Flamingos and the The Cadillacs. What an entertaining stage show these groups must have delivered. The only other do wop group to surpass these two were the outrageous Coasters. The legendary Jackie Wilson, who even impressed the King himself, Elvis, when he saw him in Las Vagas, shows why he was one of the seminal entertainers of the decade. Chuck Berry not only performs some of his best songs--possibly Johnny B. Goode is his best--but does a decent job acting as well. Too bad he was set up by the government and had to spend time in prison not long after this movie was produced. Then the viewer gets to see the talented Eddie Cochran, one of the best songwriters/musicians of the era. Harvey Fuqua helped make the Moonglows a hit but the rest of the do wop group added that little extra oomp needed to have it all jell. Still Harvey is fine as a solo act.

Allen Freed, who not long after this picture was produced was crucified by the press and made the fall guy for the payola scandal, adds a touch of authenticity to the movie, though he leaves a little to be desired in the acting department. Many in the US government--somewhat of a holdover from the McCarthy period-viewed rock 'n' roll as subversive, never mind that the Communists felt the same way but for a different ideological reason. By promoting the asphalt Elvises such as Fabian, Frankie Avalon, and Paul Anka the politicians hoped to stifle the real rock stars. The government put Chuck Berry in jail, drafted Elvis, wrecked Allen Freed's career prodding him to succumb to alcoholism, and encouraged Little Richard to pursue a calling to be a preacher. Indirectly the government aided the free press in publicizing Jerry Lee Lewis' third marriage to his thirteen year old cousin. All this and more...but the beat goes on.

The story told in "Go, Johnny, Go" is a juvenile one about Freed, a rock promoter, making Jimmy Clanton a star through a talent search. This time it's innocuous enough and doesn't get in the way of some of the best music this side of heaven. Rock on, cool cats, rock on!

This is the fifth, and final motion picture to feature legendary disc jockey Alan Freed and his assortment of musical guests. With each film, Freed took a larger role. His acting is so wooden that Nelson Eddy looks like Olivier next to him! He was also the producer of this Hal Roach production and his role is central to the plot. Now Chuck Berry is a different story. Besides performing "Johnny Be Good", "Memphis, Tennessee", and "Little Queenie", Berry plays himself and is a major catalyst to the flimsy plot. He is absolutely natural and charming. Most of the plot belongs to singers Jimmy Clanton and Sandy Stewart. Their acting is surprisingly natural. Of course, Stewart is no rocker and is a little uncomfortable with some of the music. She was more in her element when she recorded the hit single "My Coloring Book". At least Freed spares us the embarrassment of his out of tune and out of time singing that we had to endure in "Rock, Rock, Rock". However, the plot never does resolve. It just stops.

I saw this when I was 15 and we did not get to see our music stars then so movies like this were one of the options. I found it and bought it on VHS some years ago and felt lucky to find it. Jimmy Clanton was one of my musical heroes and he sang "Ship on a Stormy Sea" in this plus several other songs. It is one of the few viewings of the great Eddie Cochran although he does not have his electric guitar plugged in, it is still worth seeing him. Others in the film are great, musically. Yes, the plot lacks but most of this genre of movie lacked a plot. They were a quick and cheap way to rush the visual aspect of our stars to us, the young audience and they entertained us. Remember that they were made for our 13-19 year old minds and we were not technically aware. But, it did not differ from Dick Clark having the same people on his shows when they did not sing but mouthed the words. It has flaws but it is well worth having for anyone who wants to see and remember Jimmy Clanton, Jackie Wilson, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, and Richie Valens.