Johnny B. Goode (album)

Johnny B. Goode is a live album by Jimi Hendrix, released posthumously in June 1986. It contains three songs from Hendrix's performance at the 1970 Atlanta International Pop Festival on July 4, 1970, and two songs, including the title track, from a performance at the Berkeley Community Theater on May 30, 1970.^[1]

Johnny B. Goode: An Original Video Soundtrack
Live album by Jimi Hendrix
Released	June 1986 (1986-06)
Recorded	May 30; July 4, 1970
Venue	Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, California Atlanta Pop Festival, Byron, Georgia
Genre	Rock
Length	26:08
Label	Capitol (US) Fame (UK)
Producer	Alan Douglas Chip Branton
Hendrix US albums chronology
Jimi Plays Monterey (1986) Johnny B. Goode: An Original Video Soundtrack (1986) Band of Gypsys 2 (1986)
Hendrix UK albums chronology
The Jimi Hendrix Concerts (1982) Johnny B. Goode (1986) Radio One (1988)

Marketed as a "mini LP" soundtrack, it was released at the same time as a video album with the same title, but with more performances from Atlanta Pop.^[2] More complete performances from both concerts were released on Live at Berkeley (2003) and Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival (2015) (see Jimi Hendrix videography for more information about video releases).

Critical reception

In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave Johnny B. Goode an "A−" and called it "vivid testimony to the uses of digital mastering for archival music", finding the sound particularly "powerful" on side one. He highlighted the "intense" rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" and "Johnny B. Goode", writing that Hendrix's performance of the latter song is "the definitive version of the definitive guitar anthem".^[3] Paul Evans gave it three-and-a-half stars in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992).^[4]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jimi Hendrix, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Recording date and location	Length
1.	"Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (edit)"	July 4, 1970, Atlanta International Pop Festival	4:30
2.	"Johnny B. Goode" (Chuck Berry)	May 30, 1970, Berkeley Community Theater (1st Show)	3:55
3.	"All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan)	July 4, 1970, Atlanta International Pop Festival	3:57

Side two

No.	Title	Recording date and location	Length
4.	"The Star Spangled Banner" (John Stafford Smith, Francis Scott Key, arranged by Hendrix)	July 4, 1970, Atlanta International Pop Festival	2:46
5.	"Machine Gun"	May 30, 1970, Berkeley Community Theater (2nd Show)	11:00

Personnel

• Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals
• Mitch Mitchell – drums
• Billy Cox – bass guitar