Johnnie Johnson Brings Glory to Supporting Role

January 18 -- It's Johnnie Johnson's year of vindication.

After several years of campaigning, the St. Louis pianist — who came to fame as rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry's collaborator during the '50s and was the subject of Berry's hit "Johnnie B. Goode" — will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, in the Sideman category, along with Elvis Presley's guitarist James Burton.

Johnson has also started to actively reclaim the legacy that he and his handlers — who have conveyed upon Johnson the title of "Father of Rock 'n' Roll" — feel Berry stole from him. Johnson is suing Berry in Federal District Court for proper credit and royalties for songs he claims to have co-written with Berry, including classics such as "Roll Over Beethoven," "Rock and Roll Music," "Sweet Little Sixteen," and "No Particular Place to Go."

Not surprisingly, the 76-year-old Johnson is discreet when talking about the lawsuit, which is still in its early stages but has the potential to be worth tens of millions of dollars. "I just have to wait and see what happens," he says. "I can't handle everything." But he does note with humor that "believe it or not, half the songs we did I don't remember what the titles of them are. Some songs we played, I never knew the titles of them."

He's far more loquacious, however, when it comes to the Hall of Fame honor. "Oh, it's a great feeling, believe me," says Johnson, whose lobbying effort was assisted by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. "That means I've accomplished something a whole lot of other musicians never accomplished. To me, it feels like you have reached the public with your music."

Johnson was snubbed last year, however, when the Sideman category was established. Some feel that was due to the strident campaigning for induction, as well as harsh and very public words about the Hall's hierarchy, from Johnson booster George Turek, a Houston businessman. But Johnson himself has no complaints. "They don't want to be pushed into something they should do on their own, I guess," he says. "[The Sideman category] is something that should have happened long ago; without sidemen, a lot of people never would make it, and maybe George's campaigning helped get the [category] created. Regardless of how it happened, I'm tickled to be in."