Holliday to Hold JOHNNIE BE GOOD Fundraiser, 9/19

Filmmaker Art Holliday is hosting a September 19th fundraising concert "Johnnie's Jam: A Tribute to Johnnie Johnson" at The Sheldon for his music documentary JOHNNIE BE GOOD, the story of St. Louis native and Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson.  This film is also featured on the site IndieGoGo where people can "buy" various tax deductible items from the film while helping Mr. Holliday build up the funds needed to finish the film.
 
"Johnnie's Jam" features Conan O'Brien musicians as well as Holliday's discussion on his seven year documentary project about the life and music of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Johnnie Johnson and show excerpts from the film-in-progress.  LA singer/songwriter Dona Oxford will open the evening with the Johnnie Johnson Band.

Before they joined Conan O'Brien's band, guitarist Jimmy Vivino, bassist Mike Merritt, and drummer James Wormworth toured internationally and recorded with Johnnie Johnson. These world class musicians will perform at The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd, St. Louis on September 19th at 7 p.m. Tax deductible tickets can be purchased at Metrotix (314-534-1111 or www.Metrotix.com).

Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, and James Wormworth have performed with the likes of B.B.King, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Branford Marsalis, Robert Palmer, Pete Townsend, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, James Brown, Phoebe Snow, Cissy Houston, Al Kooper, The New York Rock and Soul Revue with Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Levon Helm, Wynton Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Rufus Wainwright, Bo Diddley, Trisha Yearwood, Michael McDonald, and Isaac Hayes.Dona Oxford was a protégé and great friend of Johnnie. Every musician on stage September 19th will have a direct link to Johnnie Johnson and they'll share their stories about the man behind the legend behind the music.

JOHNNIE BE GOOD On New Year's Eve 1952, band leader Johnnie Johnson hired a guitar player he admired named Chuck Berry and they became two of the creators of rock and roll, influencing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. JOHNNIE BE GOOD is the story of the complicated relationship between two Rock and Roll Hall Famers: Chuck Berry, the brilliant lyricist and businessman, and piano man Johnnie Johnson, a master boogie woogie and blues keyboardist, complimented each other perfectly and collaborated on hits such as "Maybellene", "Rock and Roll Music", "No Particular Place to Go", and "Roll Over Beethoven". Only Berry's name appeared on the writing credits and it will always be contested how many of Berry's songs should have been co-credited to Johnson. Not even a lawsuit settled the debate.

Eight members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame conducted interviews for JOHNNIE BE GOOD: Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Bob Weir, the late Bo Diddley, Joe Perry, and John Sebastian.
Money can't buy happiness, but can buy a music documentary!  For anything from photos, cds and signed copies of the script all the way up to producer's credit in the film, fans can help finish JOHNNIE BE GOOD. The script is being edited and a rough cut put together while Holliday gives IndieGoGo a "go" to raise the $15,000 online to finish the film and begin entering festivals and submitting to distributors. 
 

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