10 Perfect Rock Songs That Changed Music History

There's always bit a bit of a debate as to when rock and roll first came into existence. It could have been the first time that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil for his guitar talents at the crossroads, or it could have been the moment Bill Haley played Rock Around the Clock for the first time, giving a face to the sound of rock and roll. Those were all still rockabilly though, and the true hero of rock and roll was born the minute that the opening licks of Johnny B Goode were played.

While Chuck Berry wasn't doing anything that you didn't hear out of the blues tradition that came before him, Johnny B Goode was the first song to truly revel in the lifestyle of a rock and roller, from playing his guitar with reckless abandon to the story right in the middle of the song, talking about a kid who never learned to read or write but becomes a different animal whenever he has a guitar in his hands.

Chuck may not have been looking to invent a whole genre or anything, but every other great rock and roll act that came afterwards was trying to mimic his style, from John Lennon calling him his hero in the early days of the Beatles to Angus Young from AC/DC practically stealing the signature duck walk that he would do onstage night after night. It might sound a bit naive when you listen to it these days, but without Johnny B Goode, there's a good chance that rock and roll would have continued to be just a fad that would have died out once the hairstyles changed.