LeonLouisRicci More Hollywood hooey sweetening the Rock n' Roll pie with honey drippings and vanilla leads to make all this "race record stuff" easy to swallow. Jimmy Clanton was better than Bobby Rydell, Fabian, and Frankie Avalon that didn't have a voice between them. But Clanton was by no means and equal to the talent that he was heading in this movie."I don't dig it, but I like it", says the old fogie and that just about sums it up for most of these types of white bread movies that were at least kind enough to put the real rockers and black singers in support. Hollywood never did get it and neither did anyone over 30 in the 50's. That said, we do have these films to thank for a visual reference and time-capsule that otherwise would not exist. Thanx Alan Freed who is credited as one of the very first disc-jockeys to play real Rock n" Roll on his radio show "Moondawg", no matter their racial pedigree. That's the reason the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland (the home of Freed's station).There is an attempt to overshadow the real stuff with a silly choir boy story and many songs that were at best mediocre Teeny-Bopper Pop, but the real stars are gleaming and cannot be covered by any of this pandering propaganda. We get in limited supply...Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, The Flamingos, The Cadillacs, Richie Valens, Eddie Cochran, and some others that are at least palatable.But it shows its prejudice and the mainstreams preoccupation with suppressing this stuff, when the choir director says about RnR..."lets hope it is just a fad and will be gone by the time you grow up"...and then in the next few minutes dismisses him from the choir for singing a Pop tune while accompanied on the church organ. Most of his generation really thought that this was the Devil's music.

chuck-reilly "Go, Johnny, Go!" from 1959 is a showcase of Rock and Roll talent from its early years. Eddie Cochran, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, the Cadillacs, and Chuck Berry are all on hand here. Unfortunately, poor Ritchie was already gone by the time this film came out and Eddie Cochran would be killed in an auto accident the following year. It didn't take long before Chuck Berry was being indicted which put the skids on his career for years. Still, it's great to see these legends in their prime. The simplistic plot of this movie only serves to give the musical acts some brief intervals, so there isn't much to say about it. It revolves around a "chip on his shoulder" teenage orphan (Jimmy Clanton) who wants to become a singing star in the worst way. The worst way describes the rest of his flimsy story. On the plus side, Clanton sings a few tunes himself and there's no doubt that he had some talent, although this movie did little to advance his career. Of historical note is the appearance of record deejay Alan Freed who is instrumental in the plot of this film. Within a year or two after this movie's release, Freed was testifying before the U.S. Congress regarding his role in the Record Payola Scandal and his career never recovered. Mr. "Rock and Roll" died a broken man a few years later. He is chiefly remembered now for having the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame being built in the city of his original home station: Cleveland, Ohio. Long Live Rock and Roll!!

brucedgo I pretty much avoid movies I don't think I'll like. And if I do start one I usually quit early. In this case, because of the performers I fast forwarded to see the performances. They were nearly all bad, too.The only redeeming features in the movie are 2 minutes of Jackie Wilson and several minutes of Chuck Berry. But even the Chuck Berry portion with a so called "band" was such a joke, a bunch of white guys pretending to play.And like many films of 50's music, the singing was lip sync'd to a previous recording.It's a shame. I went to high school from '57 to '61 and there was great music. Would love to see/hear some in a movie.

pmh861 This is the quintessential 50's rock and roll movie. With about 20 songs from performers such as Jimmy Clanton (the lead), Chuck Berry, Eddy Cochran, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens and The Cadillacs and more, if you like 50's rock, then you will like the music in this one. This is definitely not a movie for plot or acting, but instead just plain musical fun.Some of the best performances are Jump Children by the Flamingos and Please Mr. Johnson by the Cadillacs. Also, the rare clip of the legendary Ritchie Valens makes this movie well worthwhile. It's too bad he didn't perform one of his hits like Donna, La Bamba or Come On Let's Go, but instead wailed with Ooh, My Head! A lot of this movie is very campy and adds to its charm. Because of this and especially because of the music I'd rate this a 7+ on a scale of 10. Jimmy Clanton was a good choice for the lead. His voice and mannerisms bring back memories of a much more innocent era.