Is Jimi Hendrix’s version of Johnny B. Goode an unsung proto-punk gem by John M. Ellison IV.

I’ve been on this Hendrix kick as of late thanks to Spotify and Youtube. I stumbled across Hendrix’s live version the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B. Goode” than Jimi did back in 1970. At first listen, I’m thinking “Johnny B. Goode’s a song that’s three chords, pretty uptempo and well Jimi’s version has an edge to it…wow, Hendrix was really onto something.” No, I’m not saying Jimi started “punk” per se, but to me his version kinda sounds like a predecessor of the 70’s punk sound. Tell me what you think…

Jimi Hendrix-Johnny B. Goode